Migrating myoelectrical complexes in man

Abstract

Interdigestive migrating myoelectrical complexes, caudad moving bands of action potentials, were first described in the canine small intestine by Szurszewski in 1969¹. The presence of similar complexes has since been demonstrated in the small intestine of a variety of animals^2,3,4. These complexes are initiated in the stomach and then propagated along the small intestine. In fasting human duodenal motility studies each period of motor activity terminates in a burst of regular waves with a frequency identical to the duodenal slow wave frequency of 11–12 cpm^5,6, and these bursts of contractions have been shown to pass distally along the bowel⁷. However, studies of migrating myoelectrical complexes in the human small intestine have not been reported.