Summary
Electrical activity in the entire human colon in vivo was studied for the first time with the use of two original methods: recordings with extraluminal electrodes applied during various abdominal operations; and recordings with intraluminal suction electrodes reaching every part of the colon by the end-to-end method which we modified with the use of a pulley. Sixty-eight cases, some without gastrointestinal disturbances and others with various diseases of the colon, were studied. In normal subjects, electrical activity is characterized by continuous slow waves with intermittent spikes. The slow waves have a regular rhythm varying from 9 to 16 cps from subject to subject at the level of the transverse and descending colon only, while in the other parts of the colon, the slow waves are irregular. In aganglionic and in idiopathic megacolon, alterations in electrical activity were observed.
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Provenzale, L., Pisano, M. Methods for recording electrical activity of the human colon in vivo. Digest Dis Sci 16, 712–722 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02239596
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02239596