title: Oesophageal transit of a radionuclide solid bolus in normals.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the physiological transit pattern of a compact bolus through the oesophagus in normal subjects. A standard gelatine bolus labelled with 99mTechnetium pertechnetate was swallowed in the erect and the supine positions and traced by a gamma-camera in 20 subjects. In the erect position, the mean overall transit time was 5.5 +/- 1.1 s (SD) which differed significantly (P less than 0.001) from the longer mean overall transit time of 6.9 +/- 1.4 s (SD) in the supine position. The transit patterns differed between erect and supine positions. In the erect position, the bolus travelled at a constant velocity until the most distal part of the oesophagus where a slight retardation of the velocity occurred, whilst in the supine position, a uniform retardation of the velocity was seen which was slightly accentuated in the most distal part. The present data provide a basis for the evaluation of studies on the bolus transport in patients with suspected oesophageal dysfunction.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004947:Esophagus / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005260:Female; D005780:Gelatin; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011187:Posture; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D013670:Sodium Pertechnetate Tc 99m; D013667:Technetium; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D013667:Technetium; D005780:Gelatin; D013670:Sodium Pertechnetate Tc 99m