| Abstract: | Previous morphological studies of the equine teniae coli (intestinal bands) have shown them to be highly innervated. In this study, EMG electrodes were placed in the wall of the left ventral colon in order to determine whether intestinal bands serve as major conduits of myo-electrical activity. Specifically, electrodes were implanted in the lateral mesocolic band and the adjacent tenia-free bowel of 6 horses. In 3 of these horses, a 1 cm length of the intestinal band was excised to determine if a lesion of this size would ablate local waves of depolarization. Our results indicate that sequential EMG activity persisted despite this small, focal excision. The persistence of sequential EMG activity might reflect the importance of constantly regenerating stimuli to the intestinal motility of the horse. Whether making similar or somewhat larger lesions in all four teniae of the left ventral, colon would more definitively disrupt normal pelvic flexure peristalsis will require further research. |
