Role of antral intramural neural pathways in control of gastric emptying in the pig.

1. The role of antral intramural pathways in the control of antropyloric motility and gastric emptying was evaluated in five conscious pigs equipped with chronic gastric and duodenal cannulae. Neural pathways were divided by transection and re-anastomosis of the antrum 2 cm proximal to the pylorus. Concurrent measurements of gastric emptying, transpyloric flow and antropyloric motility were performed before and 6 weeks after surgery. 2. Antral transection retarded gastric emptying, only 36% of 1000 ml saline being emptied in 30 min compared with 62% before transection. Transection did not alter the number of transpyloric flow pulses (22.0 +/- 4.0 cf. 24.4 +/- 3.2 pre-transection), but reduced (P < 0.01) the volume of flow pulses substantially (8.6 +/- 0.4 cf. 18.7 +/- 1.5 ml pre-transection). 3. Antral transection was associated with a reduction in the rate of distal antral pressure waves (P < 0.05), but no alteration in the rate of phasic low level pressurization of the entire gastric content by gastric contractions (gastric common cavity pressure waves). However, transection was associated with a significant (P < 0.05) shortening of the interval between the onset of gastric common cavity pressure waves, and the onset of lumen-occlusive pyloric pressure waves generated by the same contraction sequence (3.2 +/- 0.3 cf. 7.9 +/- 0.6 s). 4. Transection did not alter the inhibition of antral pressure waves, stimulation of localized pyloric pressure waves, and retardation of gastric emptying produced by infusion of 25% dextrose into the duodenum. 5. These studies suggest that antral intramural nerves regulate the emptying of liquids from the stomach by modulating the timing of pyloric closure in relation to phasic gastric antral and corpus contractions. 6. Distal antral intramural neural pathways do not appear to play a major role in the suppression of antral motor activity produced by duodenal glucoreceptors.