Small intestine motility development in newborn mammals.

Since the beginning of the 20th century, researchers have been working to improve the understanding of gastrointestinal motility. The first major discovery was the observation of a migrating myoelectric complex that turned out to be a universal occurrence among vertebrates. Further inquires resulted in a detailed description of its development during different stages of ontogeny. Some time before that, a cornerstone had been laid for a breakthrough that would come years later. That cornerstone came in the form of interstitial cells of Cajal whose true role could not be discerned until the discovery of a CD117 receptor - their main marker. With the ability to precisely mark interstitial cells of Cajal, a wave of subsequent new experiments and observations connected them to the occurrence of slow waves and allowed an understanding of the mechanism responsible for their generation. Some of these findings suggested that Cajal cells might have a role in the development of several motility disorders thus opening an avenue of research that requires the usage of both traditional and advanced diagnostic methods.