[Gastro-intestinal electromyography: interest in the study of mechansims of regulation of intestinal motility (author's transl)].

Investigations we carried out in man and animals in order to study the relationships between the electrical and the mechanical activities of the intestine, and to precise the role of BER in the regulation of intestinal motility. In the dog, an intestinal movements transducer allowed to establish that spiking activities were concomitant with circular contractions, and that these two phenomena were rhythmed by the slow waves. Under basal conditions, the longitudinal movements occurred independently; under stimulation longitudinal movements occurred independently; under stimulation longitudinal relaxations were observed to correspond to circular contractions. In man, the post-laparotomy paralytic ileus provoked abnormalities in the BER which seemed to be related to a disturbance of the coordination of the motility, resulting in the absence of intraluminal propulsion. Administration of coherin, a postpituitary extract, was followed by a regularization of the BER and by a decrease of paralytic ileus duration. This confirms the important role of the BER in the myogenic regulation of the intestinal motility.