Normal motility of the cecum and right ventral colon in ponies.

To study the normal motility of the cecum and right ventral colon (RVC) in 3 mature Shetland ponies, a 6-part, indwelling, intraluminal catheter system was used to measure intraluminal pressure changes. Three catheters were placed in the cecum at 10, 25, and 40 cm from the cecocolic orifice, and 3 catheters were placed in the RVC at 10, 20, and 30 cm from the cecocolic orifice. Recordings were made during the interdigestive period beginning 2 weeks after surgical operation was done. Frequent, low-amplitude peaks (0.35 +/- 0.13 coordinated peaks/min) were seen involving the cecal body and caudal cecal base, which represented a haustra-to-haustra mixing pattern. Coordinated pressure peaks originated in the cecal body and progressed to the cranial cecal base (0.07 +/- 0.01/min) or originated in the cranial cecal base and progressed to the cecal body (0.07 +/- 0.04/min). Associated with a loud rush of ingesta heard on transabdominal auscultation and progression of liquid ingesta confirmed with barium contrast radiography, there was a series of coordinated, progressive pressure peaks which originated in the cecal body, sequentially involved the cecal base, traversed the cecocolic orifice, and extended into the RVC (0.36 +/- 0.05/min). It seemed that a pacemaker region existed in the cecal body and initiated the important aborally propagated progressive pattern responsible for the transit of ingesta from the cecum to the RVC. A separate mechanism for the transit of gas was not identified. In the RVC, infrequent, nondirectional, low-amplitude segmental pressure peaks (0.12 +/- 0.06/min), and aborally progressive coordinated pressure peaks originating at the beginning of the RVC (0.09 +/- 0.02/min), occurred.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Review of large intestinal motility and mechanisms of impaction in the horse.

The large intestine has distinct motility patterns which include non-rhythmic haustral kneading of ingesta and stronger rhythmic retropulsive and propulsive contractions which move ingesta along the tract. A variable site electrical pacemaker exists at the pelvic flexure where the strong rhythmic contractions begin. The large intestine can contract adequately with only the intrinsic nerve supply intact. Neurotransmitters have profound effects on large intestinal activity.

Trials of serotonin, substance P and alpha 2-adrenergic receptor effects on the equine large colon.

Some support for both serotonin and substance P as biotransmitters in the equine large colon is presented. Close arterial injections of small quantities of each of these were effective, respectively, in stimulating marked increases in coordinated pressure peaks in the vicinity of the pelvic flexure, with modest (serotonin) or marked (substance P) increase in colon artery blood flow. Both the acaricide, amitraz, and the tranquilizer xylazine appeared to act on the equine large colon via yohimbine-sensitive alpha 2-adrenergic receptors.

Distribution of substance P-like immunoreactivity in the enteric neurons of the large colon of normal and amitraz-treated ponies: an immunocytochemical study.

The distribution of the putative motor excitatory neurotransmitter, substance P, was studied immunocytochemically in the left dorsal colon of four normal control ponies and three ponies with amitraz-induced impaction colic. Substance P-like immunoreactivity in the control ponies was observed in nerve fibres in all layers of the bowel wall and in the nerve cell bodies of the enteric ganglia. The substance P-like immunoreactivity was clearly more intense in the cell bodies of submucosal ganglia than in those of the myenteric ganglia. The internodal nerve strands of the myenteric plexus were very rich in substance P-like immunoreactivity and within the ganglia they formed dense varicose networks around the neuronal cell bodies. Nerve bundles rich in substance P-like immunoreactivity diverged inward from the myenteric plexus to contribute an abundance of varicose immunoreactive fibres to the circular muscle of the tunica muscularis. Nerve fascicles with substance P-like immunoreactivity were sparse in the longitudinal muscle except in the thickened taenial band. In the submucosa many of the nerve fibres with substance P-like immunoreactivity appeared to arise from ganglionic cell bodies. Immunoreactive fibres commonly condensed around arterial vessels in the submucosa. Fine immunoreactive nerve fascicles from the submucosal plexus also projected internally to supply the muscularis mucosae and form periglandular arrays in the lamina propria. The distribution of substance P-like immunoreactivity in the normal equine colon differed in some respects from patterns observed in large intestines of other mammals. When the colons of normal and amitraz-treated ponies were compared no differences were discerned in the distribution or intensity of substance P-like reactivity.

Equine colonic motility: interactions among wall motion, propulsion, and fluid flow.

Transmission of intestinal content with respect to wall position and intraluminal pressure was studied using implanted catheters in portions of the haustrated left ventral colon and nonhaustrated pelvic flexure and left dorsal colon in 3 conscious, standing, and feeding ponies. Wall position and content movement was studied in 1 noncatheterized conscious pony that was standing and eating. When coordinated wall movements involving greater than or equal to 30 cm of adjacent colon were seen, point-to-point content movement accompanied intraluminal pressure peaks occurring in the same direction. Near the pelvic flexure, intraluminal pressure peak maximums coincided and reduced colonic diameters and reduced intercatheter distances. Qualitative observation of 3 related aspects of intestinal motility: wall motion, propulsion, and fluid movement can be studied in the conscious feeding pony.

Retropulsion-propulsion in equine large colon.

The circular and longitudinal muscle coats of equine "midcolon" were found to be directly electrically coupled. They appear to act in concert, in healthy animals, as a pacemaker in the area of the large colon pelvic flexure, for retropulsive-propulsive myoelectrical events. The retropulsive events keep the cecum and right ventral and left ventral divisions of the colon filled, imposing a delay time for fermentation of cellulose and for bacterial protein synthesis. Point-to-point involvement of adjacent colon sections was slowed by cooling the intestinal contents with no adverse clinical signs. Diminution of the blood flow to this regulatory area was achieved in 12 weanling foals (raised parasite-free) by parasitic cranial mesenteric arteritis, using Strongylus vulgaris larvae. Four of the 12 developed clinical signs of abdominal pain, but on necropsy 3 of these 4 had no gross lesions in the gastrointestinal tract. Dissociation of the left ventral and left dorsal colon divisions, as regards intraluminal pressure events and their antecedent myoelectrical action potentials, was induced in 7 of 8 adult animals given an acaricide which under field conditions is associated with progressive large colon obstruction and colic.

Equine pelvic flexure impaction. A model used to evaluate motor events and compare drug response.

Pelvic flexure fistulas (2.5 cm diameter) were established in eight 160 kg Shetland X ponies. Impaction was induced at the pelvic flexure 25 times in the 8 animals through partial obstruction by a 1 litre rubber rebreathing bag fixed at the fistula site. Blood flow probes were implanted on the dorsal and ventral colic arteries (right colic artery and colic branch of ileocolic artery) in two of the ponies. Intraluminal pressure changes were measured at 8 different locations in the large colon during episodes of colic and following administration of flunixin or xylazine. Episodes of colic characterized by pawing, anxiety, anorexia, and attempts to lie down during impaction correlated with longer, louder sounds on auscultation and multiple contraction (closely grouped series lasting 3-5 minutes) of greater than 40 mm Hg as interpreted from simultaneous intraluminal pressure recordings. Flunixin and xylazine relieved clinical signs for 30-60 minutes. Xylazine resulted in cessation of intraluminal pressure changes for 30 minutes, Flunixin relieved signs but did not interfere with intraluminal pressure changes. Mean arterial blood flow through the colic arteries doubled during episodes of colic. Following administration of flunixin during colic, blood flow remained elevated; however, following administration of xylazine during colic, blood flow decreased.

Motor events in equine large colon.

The equine large colon is the major cellulose-fermentation locus of these species. The area of juncture of the ventral and dorsal divisions of the equine large colon was characterized, in 13 chronic unanesthetized animals and in 25 in vitro preparations, as an area of resistance to aboral flow. This is a probable pacemaker area. The reservoir function of this part of the colon is apparently facilitated by the presence of a pacemaker at this level. There was a general rise in recorded intraluminal pressure peaks during the first hour of feeding. This characteristic was not altered after resection of the extrinsic nerve supply. Electrical stimulation of the extrinsic nerve net in conscious animals at times mimicked the groups of intraluminal pressure peaks seen at the beginning of feeding.

Dependence of Cr-EDTA absorption from the rumen on luminal osmotic pressure.

A method for the measurement of [51Cr]EDTA absorption from the ventral sac of the rumen with an error of the order of +/-10% is described. When a solution present in the rumen was hypotonic or isotonic, the absorption rate of [51Cr]EDTA expressed as a clearance was about 0.2 ml/min. This gave rise to negligible errors when [51Cr]EDTA was used as an unabsorbed marker to calculate net water movements. When the osmotic pressure in the rumen exceeded that of plasma by 30-40 mos-mol/kg, the absorption rate of [51Cr]EDTA appeared to be related to the degree of hypertonicity. Absorption rates as high as 8 ml/min were observed within a range of osmotic pressures normally encountered postprandially in the rumen. Under hypertonic conditions, a correction for the absorption of this large anion was necessary if passage of water into the lumen were not to be systematically overestimated.

Absorption and exchange of water across rumen epithelium.

The osmotic pressure of solutions in the ventral sac of the rumen of the conscious cow was varied with Na Cl or mannitol. The mucosal blood flow measured by HTO clearance was minimal when the lumen contained an isotonic solution and rose threefold when the rumen was hypo- or hypertonic to plasma by 150 mosmol/kg. Thus osmotic gradients actoss the rumen epithelium stimulated mucosal blood flow. Using osmotic gradients small enough to avoid blood flow stimulation, the net water flow could be enhanced by butyrate, a chemical stimulator of blood flow. Thus water movement was partially limited by blood flow. This implied an appreciable change in osmotic pressure of the capillary blood toward that of the rumen contents. The relative importance of blood flow, membrane permeability, and solute uptake on water transport was assessed. The osmotic pressure in the rumen was stationary when the rumen solution was distinctly hypotonic to plasma. The absorbate in the absence of an osmotic gradient was thus hypertonic. The net uptake of solute increased rapidly when the solution in the lumen was hypertonic to plasma. This gave rise to a more rapid rate of change of osmotic pressure in the rumen under this condition.