Question

Mucosa of the duodenum has
(a) Absorptive cells
(b) Goblet cells
(c) Argentaffin cells
(d) All the above

Answer 1

The lining of the alimentary canal consists of four layers and those layers contain cells that secrete mucus, hormones, and help to absorb nutrients.

Complete answer:
The small intestine is made up of four distinct layers, namely the mucosa, submucosa,muscularis, and the serosa. The mucosa consists of an epithelial layer, lamina propria, and muscularis mucosae. The epithelial layer has many types of cells that are the simple columnar type of epithelial cells. Based on their function, there are cells that absorb nutrients with the help of microvilli. These cells are known as absorptive cells. There are cells that secrete mucus and are known as goblet cells. Argentaffin cells are the cells that secrete hormones.

Additional Information: - The argentaffin cells are more commonly known as enteroendocrine cells or hormone-secreting cells.
- The enteroendocrine cells contain the granule melanin in their cells. The Fontana-Masson staining technique is used to identify these granules.
- Cells that take up the silver stain i.e. the Fontanna-Masson stain are called argentaffin cells. The cells cause reduction reactions in the absence of a reducing agent and change the color of the stain from silver to metallic silver.
So, the correct answer is ‘all the above’

Note: The enteroendocrine cells are of three types
- The S cells that secrete the hormone secretion.
-The CCK cells that secrete cholecystokinin and
- The K cells that secrete GIP(glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide).
The epithelial layer of the mucosa also consists of other types of cells known as the paneth cells. These cells secrete lysozyme and are used during phagocytosis.