Question

What are Argentaffin cells and G cells?

Answer 1

Argentaffin cell, one of the round or partly flattened cells occurring in the lining tissue of the digestive tract and containing granules thought to be of secretory function. These epithelial cells, though common throughout the digestive tract, are most concentrated in the small intestine and appendix. The cells located randomly within the mucous membrane lining of the intestine and in tubelike depressions in that lining known as the Lieberkühn glands. Their granules contain a chemical called serotonin, which stimulates smooth muscle contractions. Functionally, it is believed that serotonin diffuses out of the argentaffin cells into the walls of the digestive tract, where neurons leading to the muscles are stimulated to produce the wavelike contractions of peristalsis. Peristaltic movements encourage the passage of food substances through the intestinal tract


G cell

In anatomy, the G cell (or γ-cell) is a type of cell in the stomach and duodenum that secretes gastrin. It works in conjunction with gastric chief cells and parietal cells. G cells are found deep within the pyloric glands of the stomach antrum, and occasionally in the pancreas and duodenum.

G cells have a distinctive microscopic appearance that allows one to separate them from other cells in the gastric antrum; their nuclei are centrally located in the cell. They are found in the middle portion of the gastric glands.