An in vitro method for recording single unit afferent activity from mesenteric nerves innervating isolated segments...

A technique has been developed for recording single unit afferent activity from mesenteric nerves in isolated segments of rat distal ileum in vitro. The preparation consists of a 3-cm segment of ileum, containing a single neurovascular bundle, held horizontally in an organ bath. One end of the segment is attached to a tension transducer to record changes in longitudinal tension of the gut muscle and the other is connected to a pressure transducer to record changes in intra-luminal pressure. Electromyographic activity of the smooth muscle is recorded using glass-insulated tungsten microelectrodes inserted in the wall of the gut. Afferent nerve activity is recorded with a monopolar platinum wire electrode from filaments of the mesenteric nerves that run between the artery and vein supplying the segment. This preparation permits the detailed analysis of the electrical activity of intestinal afferent nerve fibres correlated with mechanical and chemical events occurring naturally in the gut or imposed experimentally on it.