title: Pacemaker activity of the pelvicalyceal border recorded by an intracellular glass microelectrode.
abstract: Applying intracellular glass microelectrodes to the smooth muscle obtained from the guinea pig pelvicalyceal border, we have succeeded in recording periodic spontaneous action potentials, the so-called slow waves, which are characteristic of a pacemaker. This experiment proved that the pacemaker exists at the pelvicalyceal border. The slow waves originate from the pelvicalyceal border, close to the papilla renalis; they show a biphasic pattern and have the characteristics of a spontaneously excitable cell. The resting potential is 42.3 +/- 1.1 mV, the spontaneous depolarizing potential is 12.1 +/- 0.7 mV, and the depolarizing period is 12/min. The rate of rise of the potential is 22.9 +/- 2.1 mV/s in the first slow depolarization phase, and 50.9 +/- 9.5 mV/s in the following rapid depolarization phase. The rate of decline of the potential is 47.3 +/- 5.4 mV/s in the repolarization phase.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Akita University School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tsuchida
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Suzuki
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D005898:Glass; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D007670:Kidney Calices / Q000294:innervation / Q000502:physiology*; D007682:Kidney Pelvis / Q000294:innervation / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008839:Microelectrodes; D009119:Muscle Contraction / Q000502:physiology*; D009130:Muscle, Smooth / Q000502:physiology*