Abstract
The gastrointestinal motility, exocrine secretions, and endocrine cells are controlled by an integrative nervous system, under the central command of the central nervous system. The enteric nervous system is considered to be quasi-autonomous and in certain circumstances may be self-sustained. The connections of the enteric nervous system with the central nervous system are through afferent and efferent neurons of the parasympathetic and sympathetic nerves, the two major pathways of the autonomous nervous system. The enteric neurons function to control the tonus of the smooth muscle in the intestinal wall and the vascular muscle motor activity and the secretory function of the gastric and intestinal glands and endocrine products and carry sensory information to the central nervous system and some function as communicators between the neurons of the intestinal wall (interneurons). Disorders of the enteric neurons may comprise dysfunctions of the secretory, motor, or immunologic functions. In this chapter, we briefly discuss some more common motility disorders.
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This work is performed as an individual Board Certified pathologist and not as an employee of the Overton Brooks VA Medical Center. The views expressed herein are not approved nor adopted by the US Government nor its agents or employees.
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Constantinescu, M. (2016). The Enteric Nervous System. In: Constantinescu, C., Arsenescu, R., Arsenescu, V. (eds) Neuro-Immuno-Gastroenterology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28609-9_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28609-9_2
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