Motility studies of isolated antral pouches before and after vagus denervation

¹ Department of Surgery, Veterans Administration Hospital, and the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota

The motility responses of vagus innervated and denervated antral pouches to electrical stimulation of the vagus nerves and to insulin hypoglycemia were determined. Electrical stimulation appears to be a reliable method of demonstrating the presence or absence of vagus nerve supply to the antrum both in acute studies and in preparations of several months' duration. The motility response of the antral pouch to insulin hypoglycemia was found to be a less reliable method of determining the presence or absence of vagal innervation largely because spontaneous hypermotility may occur and there is more room for difference of opinion in interpretation of the results obtained. The administration of glucose after an appropriate time interval, however, added significantly to the reliability of the test. By the methods employed the antral branches of the vagus nerves were found to be the only sources of vagus innervation of the antrum. No evidence was obtained to suggest effective parasympathetic innervation of the antrum via a pyloric nerve, via the greater curvature mesenteric attachment or via an intramural gastric pathway.