COLONIC MOTILITY IN HEALTH AND DISEASE

The most important and relevant symptoms of colonic dysfunction are di arrhea, constipation, urgency, and pain. Despite the efforts of many i nvestigators over several decades, the motor physiology of the human c olon is still relatively obscure. In practice, measurements of transit are the best characterized and most widely available tests of colonic motor function. Colonic hypersensitivity, implying an abnormality of afferent signalling, is assuming greater importance in the pathophysio logy of conditions as common as irritable bowel syndrome and inflammat ory bowel disease.