title: Principles of motility and sensation testing.
abstract: Motility of the gastrointestinal tract includes the phenomena of contractile activity, tone, compliance, flow, and transit. Sensitivity of the gastrointestinal tract is intimately related to motility. A range of techniques, both invasive and noninvasive, can be applied to evaluate enteric sensorimotor function in health and disease. This article reviews the physiologic principles underpinning these techniques. Altertions in both sensitivity and motility are believed to be important in the origin of symptoms in the functional gastrointestinal disorders. The evolution of studies investigating motility and sensitivity in these disorders, using the previously mentioned techniques, is also considered.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Gastroenterology and Medicine, Royal North Shore Hospital, University of Sydney, St. Leonards NSW 2065, Australia. johnk@med.usyd.edu.au
authors.forename: John E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Kellow
mesh_terms: D004064:Digestive System / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D004576:Electromyography; D005769:Gastrointestinal Motility / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007410:Intestinal Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology; D008365:Manometry; D011859:Radiography; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D012677:Sensation / Q000502:physiology*; D020886:Somatosensory Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology