[Functional organization of the ganglia of the myenteric plexus]

In myenteral plexus of isolated segments of the small intestine and colon, presence of spontaneously active and silent cells was shown. The former discharge in separate action potentials with variable interval or in periodic bursts with relatively long intervals in between. The silent cells have a major group of mechanosensitive neurons and the neurons responding to pharmacological agents or to biologically active substances. The simplest interneuronal relations are considered in the myenteral ganglion: the excitatory and inhibitory connections, signs of organization in the neuronal activity. On the basis of own and literature data, a hypothetical scheme of functional organization of the myenteral plexus' ganglions is suggested.