We report here the characteristics of a cyclic motor activity in the colon of conscious dogs and its relationship to small intestinal migrating motor complexes (MMCs). The colonic motor activity was recorded by four equispaced strain gauges and small intestinal myoelectric activity by four equispaced bipolar electrodes. The colonic motor activity was characterized by rhythmic bursts of contractions. The mean durations of bursts of contractions varied from 7.0 to 11.5 min at the four colonic recording sites. Those bursts of contractions which migrated over at least three recording sites were called colonic migrating motor complexes (CMMCs). All other patterns of bursts of contractions were called colonic nonmigrating motor complexes (CNMCs). A total of 160 CMMCs were recorded during a total recording period of 132 h; 151 CMMCs migrated caudad and 9 orad. The mean period of caudad migrating CMMCs was 53.3 +/- 5.4 (SE) min, and their mean migration time was 11.3 +/- 1.2 (SE) min. The onset of CMMCs was not temporally related to the onset of small intestinal migrating myoelectric complexes in the duodenum or their arrival in the terminal ileum. CMMCs did not have phases I to IV like those of small intestinal MMCs, but two consecutive CMMCs were separated by a quiescent state or by one or more randomly occurring bursts of contractions (CNMCs).

The APS Journal Legacy Content is the corpus of 100 years of historical scientific research from the American Physiological Society research journals. This package goes back to the first issue of each of the APS journals including the American Journal of Physiology, first published in 1898. The full text scanned images of the printed pages are easily searchable. Downloads quickly in PDF format.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

The smooth muscle layers of the stomach and the small intestine show two types of electrical activities, the electrical control activity and the electrical response activity.' The electrical control activity controls the appearance, in time and space, of electrical response activity, when the latter is present. The electrical response activity occurs only on a part of the control wave cycle -that is, during the depolarised phase -and is directly associated with rhythmic or phasic contractions.Our postoperative colonic serosal recordings from

Central regulation of gastric emptying of a solid nutrient meal and spatial and temporal parameters of gastro-pyloro-duodenal contractions by corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) were investigated in conscious dogs. Intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) infusion of CRF at 0.033 nmol kg-1 min-1 for 15 min in a volume of 0.2 mL significantly delayed the total gastric emptying time of the meal. I.c.v infusion of CRF also increased the mean frequency of proximal duodenal contractions and decreased the percentage of distally propagating contractions in the whole duodenum. The remaining parameters of pyloric and duodenal contractions were not affected. A prior i.c.v. infusion of I-helical CRF9-41 (0.166 nmol kg-1 min-1 for 15 min in a volume of 0.2 mL) blocked the central effects of CRF on gastric emptying time and the duodenal contractions. Central infusion of CRF had no significant effect on the lag phase of gastric emptying. Bilateral truncal vagotomy significantly delayed the gastric emptying time of the solid nutrient meal. However, after vagotomy, i.c.v. infusion of CRF had no effect on gastric emptying time or the spatial and temporal parameters of gastro-pyloro-duodenal contractions. In conclusion, CRF, the mediator of stress response, delays the total gastric emptying time of solid nutrient meals. The delay in gastric emptying may not be due to a change in the spatial and temporal parameters of gastric or pyloric contractions, but mainly due to changes in the parameters of duodenal contractions. The central effects of CRF on gastric emptying and duodenal contractions may be mediated by the vagus nerves.

The colonic motor effects of fractionated irradiation were studied in five conscious dogs. Seven colonic and two ileal strain gauge transducers were implanted. After control recordings, an abdominal dose of 250 cGy was administered three times a week on alternate days for three successive weeks (total dose 2,250 cGy). Recordings were then continued for 3 wk after the completion of radiation. Colonic giant migrating contractions (GMCs) occurred at a frequency of 0.15 +/- 0.05 contractions/h in the control state. Only one of these contractions (8.3%) originated in the small bowel and propagated into the colon. Abdominal field irradiation significantly increased the incidence of colonic GMCs to 0.51 +/- 0.11 contractions/h (P < 0.05). Fifty-four percent of GMCs originated in the small intestine. GMCs during the radiation schedule were associated with explosive diarrhea on seven occasions. Irradiation did not alter the frequency of colonic migrating motor complexes, but the mean duration of contractile states decreased in the middle and distal colon. Diarrhea occurred as early as the second dose of radiation. Pathological changes in the colon were correlated with motor activity. Both small intestinal and colonic GMCs reverted to control frequencies after cessation of radiation exposure. Abdominal irradiation significantly altered the contractile activity of the colon. These changes are associated with abdominal cramping and diarrhea.