J. Mcrorie et al., CHARACTERIZATION OF PROPAGATING CONTRACTIONS IN PROXIMAL COLON OF AMBULATORY MINI PIGS, Digestive diseases and sciences, 43(5), 1998, pp. 957-963
The aim of this study was to characterize propagating contractions in
the unprepared colon of freely ambulating mini pigs. A telemetric meth
od was used to record colonic motility continuously for six consecutiv
e days in a 40-cm segment of proximal colon. Propagating contractions
occurred over a wide range of propagation rates (0.4-16.7 cm/sec), pea
k amplitudes (10-116 mm Hg) and pressure wave durations (5.3-40.0 sec)
. Propagating contractions were divided into two groups by duration an
d wave-form: short-duration symmetrical and long-duration asymmetrical
. Short-duration (7.8 +/- 0.9 sec) symmetrical wave-from propagating c
ontractions exhibited a higher frequency (27.9 +/- 2.6 events/day), mo
re rapid propagation rate (3-16.7 cm/sec; mean +/- SEM: 4.9 +/- 1.7 cm
/sec), and a lower peak amplitude (31.2 +/- 0.9 mm Hg) compared to lon
g-duration (19.2 +/- 5.1 sec) asymmetrical propagating contractions, w
hich were less frequent (6.1 +/- 0.7 events/day), slower in propagatio
n rate (0.4-2 cm/sec; mean +/- SEM: 1.5 +/- 0.7 cm/sec), and higher in
peak amplitude (51.6 +/- 2.4 mm Hg), The results show that propagatin
g contractions occur over a wide spectrum, from short-duration, low-am
plitude, rapidly propagating contractions to long-duration, high-ampli
tude, slowly propagating contractions.