| Gastric glands | |
|---|---|
 Gastric glands shown at c and their ducts at d | |
| Details | |
| Identifiers | |
| Latin | glandulae gastricae |
| Anatomical terminology | |
Gastric glands are glands in the lining of the stomach that play an essential role in the process of digestion. Their secretions make up the digestive gastric juice. The gastric glands open into gastric pits (foveolae) in the mucosa. The gastric mucosa is covered in surface mucous cells (foveolar cells) that produce the mucus necessary to protect the stomach epithelial lining from gastric acid secreted by parietal cells in the glands, and from pepsin a secreted digestive enzyme. Surface mucous cells follow the indentations and partly line the gastric pits. Other mucus secreting cells are found in the necks of the glands. These are mucous neck cells that produce a different kind of mucus.
There are two types of gastric gland, the exocrine oxyntic gland, and the endocrine pyloric gland. The major type of gastric gland is the oxyntic gland that is present in the fundus and the body of the stomach making up about 80 per cent of the stomach area. These glands are often referred to simply as the gastric glands. The oxyntic gland contains the parietal cells that produce hydrochloric acid and intrinsic factor, and chief cells that produce pepsinogen and gastric lipase.
The pyloric gland is found in the pyloric region, the remaining 20 per cent of the stomach. The pyloric glands are mainly in the pyloric antrum. The pyloric gland secretes gastrin from its G cells. Pyloric glands are similar in structure to the oxyntic glands but have hardly any parietal cells.