Neural regulation of interdigestive motor activity in canine jejunum

The hypothesis that extrinsic innervation of the small bowel provides pathways for initiation and coordinated propagation of the interdigestive migrating contractions (IMC) was reinvestigated in dogs. Motor activity was measured by chronically implanted force transducers. After a control study, 40-cm segments of the jejunum were extrinsically denervated. All IMC migrated distally through the extrinsically denervated segments. Thiry loops were then constructed from the extrinsically denervated segments, and continuity of the intestine was restored by end-to-end anastomosis. IMC proximal to the anastomosis did not migrate through the extrinsically denervated loop but migrated to sites across the anastomosis. In the extrinsically denervated loop, bands of strong contractions, quite similar to the IMC, occurred at the orad end of the loop independent of the IMC and propagated distally to the caudad end of the loop. The duration, frequency, and migrating velocity of these bands of contraction were different from those of IMC. These results suggest that extrinsic innervation is not essential for the initiation and orad sequential propagation of periodic motor activity like IMC, even when intrinsic innervation is discontinued.