Evacuation of the Normal Large Intestine

Abstract

Although the motor activity of the large bowel may usually be determined by means of a barium meal an assessment of pathologic conditions demands a detailed knowledge of normal colonie filling and evacuation. Little on this subject is found in the literature, a fact that prompted the present investiga tion of the normal variability of colonie function by means of a small con trast meal. It was considered that this special meal would produce the minimal interference with the normal physiology of the colon.Earlier investigations. Motor activity of the colon has attracted a good deal of interest. Information on this complex procedure is provided e.g. in the textbook of SCHINZ & coll. (1952). Evacuation of the intestinal contents, which is of special interest in the present work, is mostly effected by the mass movements of the colon, observed as early as 1909 by HOLZKNECHT. These movements occur at intervals of several hours and transpose the intestinal contents by stages over long stretches. KANTOR (1932) observed the emptying of the colon roentgenologically in 844 unspecified cases. The standard barium meal was employed; the quantity is not indicated, but may be assumed to have been considerable. A hard rectal impaction was encountered in over 18 per cent of cases and had to be removed by artificial means. The method was therefore highly unphysiologic,