[The motility of the lower esophageal sphincter (author's transl)]

Changes in lower esophageal sphincter (LES) motility have been mainly studied by intraluminal manometry. However, it is not suitable for continuous measurement of LES pressure. With extraluminal force transducers developed and constracted in our laboratory, we measured changes in contractile activity of the LES. Three anesthetized mongrel dogs were used for preliminary experiment. A transducer was sutured on the serosal surface of the LES immediately inferior to the phrenoesophageal membrane. A catheter with a side hole was simultaneously passed into the stomach through a mouth so that the side hole was anchored at the highest pressure zone of the gastroesophageal junction. It was found that dose-related changes in motor activity of the LES to pentagastrin were obtained by both methods. This result indicate changes obtained by transducers represent those in intraluminal pressure measured manometory. Transducers were chronically implanted on the LES and the gastric body and antrum to record changes in contractile activity in conscious state. It was found that a group of contractions lasting for 25 +/- 2.5 min occurred at regular intervals of quiescence until next meal. Furthermore, these motor increase precisely coincided with the interdigestive contractions of the stomach.