The key difference between Meissner’s and Auerbach’s plexus is that Meissner’s plexus is in the submucosal tissue of the intestine, while Auerbach’s plexus is between the circular muscle layer and longitudinal muscle layer in the lower esophagus, stomach, and intestines.
Digestive nerve plexus or enteric nerve plexus are intricate layers of nervous tissue. They are involved in controlling all aspects of bowel function and movements in the esophagus, stomach, and intestines. There are three major nerve plexus innervate the intestine. Among them, two are named as myenteric plexus (Auerbach’s plexus) and the submucous plexus (Meissner’s plexus). The Meissner’s plexus is found in the submucosal tissue, which links the surface mucous membrane lining to the deeper muscle layers in the stomach and intestine. Auerbach’s plexus is located between the circular muscle layer and the longitudinal muscle layer in the lower esophagus, stomach, and intestines.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Meissner’s Plexus
3. What is Auerbach’s Plexus
4. Similarities Between Meissner’s and Auerbach’s Plexus
5. Side by Side Comparison – Meissner’s vs Auerbach’s Plexus in Tabular Form
6. Summary
What is Meissner’s Plexus?
Meissner’s plexus is one of the three nerve plexus of the digestive system. It is also known as the submucosal plexus. As the name suggests, submucosal plexus is located in the submucosal tissue or submucosa of the intestinal wall. Meissner’s plexus is comprised of nerve fibers and cell bodies from the parasympathetic nervous system. Therefore, it is a network of nerve fibres.
Figure 01: Meissner’s Plexus
The major function of Meissner’s plexus is the controlling of GI secretions and local blood flow. It is an inner plexus that innervates cells in the epithelial layer and the smooth muscle of the muscularis mucosae. Moreover, the nerve bundles of the submucous plexus are finer than the nerve bundles of the myenteric plexus.
What is Auerbach’s Plexus?
Auerbach’s plexus or myenteric plexus is the outer nerve plexus of the digestive system. Auerbach’s plexus is found between the inner circular and outer longitudinal layers of the muscularis externa. They belong to the enteric nervous system, and it is responsible for generating and controlling peristaltic movements or GI movements.
Figure 02: Auerbach’s Plexus
Auerbach’s plexus runs throughout the whole length of the intestine as a network of interconnected neurons, focusing especially on regulating the musculature of the gut.
What are the Similarities Between Meissner’s and Auerbach’s Plexus?
- Meissner’s and Auerbach’s plexus are two enteric nerve plexus.
- They are intricate layers of nervous tissue.
- They control movements in the esophagus, stomach, and intestines.
- Therefore, they are involved in all aspects of bowel function, including absorption, secretion, motility, and blood-flow regulation.
What is the Difference Between Meissner’s and Auerbach’s Plexus?
Meissner’s plexus is the inner plexus that is located in the submucosal region between the circular muscle and mucosa, while Auerbach’s plexus is the outer plexus found between the longitudinal and circular muscle layers of the digestive tract. So, this is the key difference between Meissner’s and Auerbach’s plexus. Moreover, the nerve bundles of the submucous plexus are finer than those of the myenteric plexus.
Furthermore, Meissner’s plexus is the main control of GI secretion and local blood flow, while Auerbach’s plexus is the main control of GI movements. Thus, this is the functional difference between Meissner’s and Auerbach’s plexus.
Below is a list of differences between Meissner’s and Auerbach’s plexus in tabular form.
Summary – Meissner’s vs Auerbach’s Plexus
Meissner’s and Auerbach’s plexus are two enteric nerve plexus. Meissner’s plexus is the inner plexus located in the submucosal tissue of the intestine, while Auerbach’s plexus is the outer plexus situated between the longitudinal and circular muscle layers of the gut. Meissner’s plexus is responsible for controlling GI secretion and local blood flow. Auerbach’s plexus is responsible for controlling GI movements. Thus, this summarizes the difference between Meissner’s and Auerbach’s plexus.
Reference:
1. Purves, Dale. “The Enteric Nervous System.” Neuroscience. 2nd Edition., U.S. National Library of Medicine, 1 Jan. 1970, Available here.
2. “Meissner Plexus.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., Available here.
Image Courtesy:
1. By Henry Vandyke Carter – Henry Gray (1918) Anatomy of the Human Body (See "Book" section below)Bartleby.com: Gray's Anatomy, Plate 1072 (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Myenteric plexus” By Dr. Roshan Nasimudeen – Department of Pathology, Government Medical College, Kozikode (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia