A SCINTIGRAPHIC STUDY OF MASS PERISTALSIS IN HUMAN COLON

Abstract

Although many attempts have been made to study human colonic motility, the colonic transit is still poorly understood. Both spontaneous and neostigmine-induced peristalsis of the colon were studied with scintigraphy. A polythene tube was inserted into the cecum through a colonofiberscope. 37 MBq of ⁹⁹ᵐTc-DTPA and 75 ml of saline were instilled and dynamic scan was begun. Eight healthy volunteers were examined by the method above mentioned. The sampling time was set at fifteen seconds in six persons and three seconds in the rest. 0.5 mg of neostigmine was injected intravenously to stimulate the paristalsis when no peristalsis occurred within thirty minutes after the study was begun. Dynamic scanning was performed for sixty to ninety minutes. This scintigraphic study revealed that the spontaneous and induced peristalsis were almost identical on colonogram. ⁹⁹ᵐTc-DTPA solution was propelled from the cecum and ascending colon to the sigmoid colon or the rectum for about fifteen seconds during mass peristalsis. Colonogram (time-activity curve) enables us to analyze mass peristalsis easily and more objectively than colonoscintigram. The spontaneous and neostigmine-induced peristalsis seemed to be almost identical in all but one of eight subjects.