Foveolar cells or surface mucous cells are
mucus
Mucus ( ) is a slippery aqueous secretion produced by, and covering, mucous membranes. It is typically produced from cells found in mucous glands, although it may also originate from mixed glands, which contain both serous and mucous cells. It is ...
-producing
cell
Cell most often refers to:
* Cell (biology), the functional basic unit of life
Cell may also refer to:
Locations
* Monastic cell, a small room, hut, or cave in which a religious recluse lives, alternatively the small precursor of a monastery ...
s which cover the inside of the
stomach
The stomach is a muscular, hollow organ in the gastrointestinal tract of humans and many other animals, including several invertebrates. The stomach has a dilated structure and functions as a vital organ in the digestive system. The stomach i ...
, protecting it from the corrosive nature of
gastric acid
Gastric acid, gastric juice, or stomach acid is a digestive fluid formed within the stomach lining. With a pH between 1 and 3, gastric acid plays a key role in digestion of proteins by activating digestive enzymes, which together break down the ...
. These cells line the
gastric mucosa
The gastric mucosa is the mucous membrane layer of the stomach, which contains the glands and the gastric pits. In humans, it is about 1 mm thick, and its surface is smooth, soft, and velvety. It consists of simple columnar epithelium, lamin ...
(mucous neck cells are found in the necks of the
gastric pit
Gastric pits are indentations in the stomach which denote entrances to 3-5"Secretions from several gastric glands flow into each gastric pit" Principals of Anatomy & Physiology 15th Ed 2017, Gerard Tortora & Bryan Derrickson tubular shaped gastri ...
s). The mucus-secreting cells of the stomach can be distinguished histologically from the intestinal
goblet cell
Goblet cells are simple columnar epithelial cells that secrete gel-forming mucins, like mucin 5AC. The goblet cells mainly use the merocrine method of secretion, secreting vesicles into a duct, but may use apocrine methods, budding off their secre ...
s, another type of mucus-secreting cell.
Structure
The
gastric mucosa
The gastric mucosa is the mucous membrane layer of the stomach, which contains the glands and the gastric pits. In humans, it is about 1 mm thick, and its surface is smooth, soft, and velvety. It consists of simple columnar epithelium, lamin ...
that lines the inner wall of the
stomach
The stomach is a muscular, hollow organ in the gastrointestinal tract of humans and many other animals, including several invertebrates. The stomach has a dilated structure and functions as a vital organ in the digestive system. The stomach i ...
has a set of microscopic features called gastric glands which, depending on the location within the stomach, secrete different substances into the
lumen of the organ. The openings of these glands into the stomach are called
gastric pits which foveolar cells line in order to provide a protective alkaline secretion against the corrosive
gastric acid
Gastric acid, gastric juice, or stomach acid is a digestive fluid formed within the stomach lining. With a pH between 1 and 3, gastric acid plays a key role in digestion of proteins by activating digestive enzymes, which together break down the ...
.
Microanatomy
![Foveolar cells](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/Foveolar_cells.jpg)
Foveolar cells line the surface of the stomach, the gastric pits, and the top part of
gastric glands
The gastric glands are glands in the lining of the stomach that play an essential role in the process of digestion. All of the glands have mucus-secreting foveolar cells. Mucus lines the entire stomach, and protects the stomach lining from the ...
: the neck. They constitute a
simple columnar epithelium
Simple columnar epithelium is a single layer of columnar epithelial cells which are tall and slender with oval-shaped nuclei located in the basal region, attached to the basement membrane. In humans, simple columnar epithelium lines most organ ...
, as they form a single layer of cells and are taller than their width. Depending on their location, foveolar cells can be divided in two groups: surface mucous cells, which line the surface and the gastric pits; and mucous neck cells, which are a part of the neck of gastric glands along
parietal cell
Parietal cells (also known as oxyntic cells) are epithelial cells in the stomach that secrete hydrochloric acid (HCl) and intrinsic factor. These cells are located in the gastric glands found in the lining of the fundus and body regions of the ...
s.
Surface mucous cells have large quantities of
mucin
Mucins () are a family of high molecular weight, heavily glycosylated proteins (glycoconjugates) produced by epithelial tissues in most animals. Mucins' key characteristic is their ability to form gels; therefore they are a key component in most ...
granules in their
apical
Apical means "pertaining to an apex". It may refer to:
*Apical ancestor, refers to the last common ancestor of an entire group, such as a species (biology) or a clan (anthropology)
*Apical (anatomy), an anatomical term of location for features loc ...
(top) surface and project short
microvilli
Microvilli (singular: microvillus) are microscopic cellular membrane protrusions that increase the surface area for diffusion and minimize any increase in volume, and are involved in a wide variety of functions, including absorption, secretion, ...
into the
lumen of the stomach.
Mucins are large
glycoproteins
Glycoproteins are proteins which contain oligosaccharide chains covalently attached to amino acid side-chains. The carbohydrate is attached to the protein in a cotranslational or posttranslational modification. This process is known as glycos ...
that give the mucus its gel-like properties.
As mucins are lost during routine
histology preparation, they stain pale, but if preserved correctly the cells stain strongly with special techniques like
PAS or
toluidine blue
Toluidine blue, also known as TBO or tolonium chloride (International Nonproprietary Name, INN) is a blue cationic (basic) dye used in histology (as the toluidine blue stain) and sometimes clinically.
Test for lignin
Toluidine blue Solution (ch ...
, the last representing the
anion
An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge.
The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by convent ...
ic nature of foveolar cell secretions. Below the mucin granules, surface mucous cells have a
Golgi apparatus
The Golgi apparatus (), also known as the Golgi complex, Golgi body, or simply the Golgi, is an organelle found in most eukaryotic cells. Part of the endomembrane system in the cytoplasm, it packages proteins into membrane-bound vesicles ins ...
, the
nucleus
Nucleus ( : nuclei) is a Latin word for the seed inside a fruit. It most often refers to:
*Atomic nucleus, the very dense central region of an atom
*Cell nucleus, a central organelle of a eukaryotic cell, containing most of the cell's DNA
Nucle ...
, and small amounts of
rough endoplasmic reticulum
The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is, in essence, the transportation system of the eukaryotic cell, and has many other important functions such as protein folding. It is a type of organelle made up of two subunits – rough endoplasmic reticulum ( ...
.
Mucous neck cells are located within gastric glands, interspersed between
parietal cell
Parietal cells (also known as oxyntic cells) are epithelial cells in the stomach that secrete hydrochloric acid (HCl) and intrinsic factor. These cells are located in the gastric glands found in the lining of the fundus and body regions of the ...
s. These are shorter than their surface counterpart and contain lesser quantities of mucin granules in their apical surface.
Function
![Stomach mucosal layer labeled](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/53/Stomach_mucosal_layer_labeled.svg)
The mucus produced by these cells is extremely important, as it prevents the stomach from digesting itself.
Parietal cells
Parietal cells (also known as oxyntic cells) are epithelial cells in the stomach that secrete hydrochloric acid (HCl) and intrinsic factor. These cells are located in the gastric glands found in the lining of the fundus and body regions of the ...
produce potent hydrochloric acid, which damages cells.
Gastric chief cell
A gastric chief cell (or peptic cell, or gastric zymogenic cell) is a type of gastric gland cell that releases pepsinogen and gastric lipase. It is the cell responsible for secretion of chymosin in ruminant animals. The cell stains basophilic upo ...
s produce pepsinogen, which is activated by the acid to form
pepsin
Pepsin is an endopeptidase that breaks down proteins into smaller peptides. It is produced in the gastric chief cells of the stomach lining and is one of the main digestive enzymes in the digestive systems of humans and many other animals, w ...
. Pepsin is a protease that can digest and damage stomach cells. To prevent these disastrous effects, mucus and bicarbonate ions (HCO
3−) are secreted by the foveolar cells.
The mucus allows the acid at pH above 4 to penetrate lining, but below pH 4 (i.e. when acid is more concentrated) the acid cannot penetrate the mucus. This is called viscous fingering.
Thus the foveolar cells can pump out a lot of acid, but acid once in the lumen of the stomach is prevented from returning.
See also
*
List of human cell types derived from the germ layers
This is a list of cells in humans derived from the three embryonic germ layers – ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm.
Cells derived from ectoderm
Surface ectoderm Skin
* Trichocyte
* Keratinocyte
Anterior pituitary
* Gonadotrope
* Corticotro ...
Notes
References
External links
* - "Digestive System: Alimentary Canal: fundic stomach, gastric glands, base"
* - see slide #41
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Mucus secreting cells
Human cells
Stomach