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Updated: Dec 1, 2025

Spatiotemporal Mapping of Motility in Ex Vivo Preparations of the Intestines
Published on: January 27, 2016
1907-2020: more than one century of colonic mass movements in humans
1Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Digestive Endoscopy Section, Department of Medicine, University of Perugia School of Medicine, Perugia, Italy.
Abstract:
Motility of the large bowel may be grossly subdivided in two types of contractile activity: low-amplitude single or cyclic propagated waves and high-amplitude propagated activity. The latter is mainly apt to shift relatively large amounts of colonic contents, and it is related to defecation. The main component of this propagated activity is represented by the radiologically identified mass movements that have a manometric equivalent known as high-amplitude propagated contractions (HAPC). The present article reviews origins and characterization of HAPC in the time course of colonic motility investigations, and correlates it with technological advancements in recent years, putting into perspective the future possible options to better detect and investigate these important physiological events.
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