[Motility disturbances of the large intestine]

Motility disturbances of the large intestine, which appear in various conditions of a disease, are based on a reduction, the loss or an intensivation of the contractility as well as on a disorganization of the motor activity. Also in the region of the large intestine the normal motoricity can underlie such disturbances, such as retarded or accelerated passage, passage in wrong direction as well as increased turbulence or increased content. Retarded passage of the large intestine leads to obstipation and in advanced form to ileus. The leading symptom in accelerated passage is the diarrhoea. The passage in wrong direction disturbs the motoricity of the colon in the case of a lesion of the ileocaecal valves. Increased turbulence of the content of the large intestine is one of the causes of obstipation, particularly, when it appears in a retarded passage. The disturbances of the laminary flow are characteristic for a diverticulosis. The motor activity of the colon is influenced by many factors, mainly by the central nervous system, the gastrointestinal hormones (cholecystokinin, gastrin, serotonin, insulin and prostaglandins), the diet and the way of life. The motor disturbances are accompanied by bioelectric disturbances of the colon. In the second part of the lecture some pathogenetic and clinical aspects of the most frequently appearing motor disturbance of the large intestine, the irritable colon, are discussed.