[Intestinal motility following jejunal resection: electromyography study in the rat]

The influences of massive resections on motility of the small intestine remain poorly known. The aim of our study was to determine the effects of jejunal resection on the pattern of occurrence of the migrating myoelectric complex and its postprandial inhibition. The experiments were performed over a period of 1 month after surgery. Transections were done on the jejunum or on the ileum in sham-operated animals. Ten days after resection, the motility of the anastomosed jejunal and ileal segments was dissociated. After one month, a functional continuity appeared through the anastomosis: the whole intestine worked synchronously at the same rhythm as the ileum. Food intake induced an increase in the frequency of the migrating myoelectric complexes measured 10 days after surgery. An adaptative phenomenon appeared after 30 days, the postprandial motor activity returning to its control level.