From the anatomical orientation of the stomach (fig. 24.1), one can see that when a person lies on the right, the stomach contents can drain downward into the lower esophagus. Lying on the left, however, helps to keep the stomach contents away from the cardiac orifice. Therefore GERD is more likely to occur when lying on the right.
Obstruction of the pancreatic duct interferes with the secretion of pancreatic enzymes into the duodenum. Thus food is digested less completely, the individual receives less nourishment from the food that he or she eats, and this results in stunted growth.
The stratified squamous epithelium of the esophagus has much less surface area than that provided by the circular folds, villi, and microvilli of the small intestine. Thus an esophageal type of epithelium would have less surface for contact digestion and nutrient absorption.
One would have to explain that some organ donations are common, such as kidney donations, because a person has two kidneys and can live with just one while donating the other. However, many people do not realize that we have only one liver and it is not expendable. One could thank the would-be donor for his or her good intentions, but explain that the donor could not survive without his or her liver.
Either of these could result in a duodenal ulcer. Hyposecretion of pancreatic bicarbonate would mean that less of the stomach acid would be neutralized in the duodenum, leaving an excess of acid to erode the duodenal mucosa. Hyposecretion by the duodenal goblet cells would reduce the thick layer of mucus that normally protects the epithelium from stomach acid.
