Electrical coupling of longitudinal and circular intestinal muscle

Space constants (lambda) were determined for longitudinal-circular muscle strips of cat jejunum by the partition method. Pulses of hyperpolarizing current spread along the major axes of circular muscle cells. In the absence of electrical coupling lambda measured from the longitudinal side of the strips should have been approximately 20 times shorter than lambda measured from the circular side. Median values were found to be statistically the same, 2.4 mm for the longitudinal side (n = 13) and 2.9 mm for the circular (n = 25). Methyl blue, iontophoretically injected into cells on the longitudinal side after recording large hyperpolarizing responses, was found in muscle cells located superficially in the longitudinal layer. The radial lambda for longitudinal muscle, determined from the change in magnitude of the hyperpolarizing response as the microelectrode was advanced through the layer, was 0.27 mm. This is too large to cause differences in depth of recording to significantly affect the circumferential lambda in this layer. These data provide evidence for a high degree of electrical coupling between the two muscle layers of cat jejunum.