Small intestinal motility in fasted and postprandial states: effect of transient vagosympathetic blockade.

We investigated vagal control of the migrating myoelectric complex (MMC) and postprandial pattern of the canine small intestine. Gastric and small intestinal motility were monitored in six conscious dogs. The vagosympathetic nerves, previously isolated in bilateral skin loops, were blocked by cooling. To feed, a meat-based liquid food was infused by tube into the gastric fundus. MMC phases I, II, III, and IV were observed in the fasted state. On feeding, the fed pattern appeared quickly in the proximal small bowel but was delayed distally. Vagal blockade abolished all gastric contractions and spiking activity as well as the small bowel fed pattern. During vagal blockade, the small bowel exhibited MMC-like migrating bursts of spikes in both the fasted and fed states. The migration and cycling of these bursts were not significantly different from the MMC, but the duodenal and jejunal phase II was absent or shortened. On termination of vagal blockade, normal fasting or fed activity reappeared but with a delay in the fed pattern distally. We conclude: the ileum is the least sensitive to vagal blockade; the fasting vagal influence is exerted primarily on phases I and II of the duodenal and jejunal MMC; the fed pattern throughout the entire small bowel is normally dependent upon vagal integrity; the phase III-like bursts of activity seen during vagal blockade likely represents the intrinsic small bowel MMC, which is vagally independent.