title: Focal activities and re-entrant propagations as mechanisms of gastric tachyarrhythmias.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Gastric arrhythmias occur in humans and experimental animals either spontaneously or induced by drugs or diseases. However, there is no information regarding the origin or the propagation patterns of the slow waves that underlie such arrhythmias.
  
  
  METHODS
  To elucidate this, simultaneous recordings were made on the antrum and the distal corpus during tachygastrias in open abdominal anesthetized dogs using a 240 extracellular electrode assembly. After the recordings, the signals were analyzed, and the origin and path of slow wave propagations were reconstructed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Several types of arrhythmias could be distinguished, including (1) premature slow waves (25% of the arrhythmias), (2) single aberrant slow waves (4%), (3) bursts (18%), (4) regular tachygastria (11%), and (5) irregular tachygastria (10%). During regular tachygastria, rapid, regular slow waves emerged from the distal antrum or the greater curvature, whereas, during irregular tachygastria, numerous variations occurred in the direction of propagation, conduction blocks, focal activity, and re-entry. In 12 cases, the arrhythmia was initiated in the recorded area. In each case, after a normal propagating slow wave, a local premature slow wave occurred in the antrum. These premature slow waves propagated in various directions, often describing a single or a double loop that re-entered several times, thereby initiating additional slow waves.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Gastric arrhythmias resemble those in the heart and share many common features such as focal origin, re-entry, circular propagation, conduction blocks, and fibrillation-like behavior.
authors: Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates. wlammers@smoothmap.org
authors: Wim J E P
authors: WJ
authors: Lammers
authors: Luc
authors: L
authors: Ver Donck
authors: Betty
authors: B
authors: Stephen
authors: Dirk
authors: D
authors: Smets
authors: Jan A J
authors: JA
authors: Schuurkes
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004285:Dogs; D004568:Electrodiagnosis / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006329:Heart Conduction System / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology*; D013270:Stomach / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013272:Stomach Diseases / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D013615:Tachycardia, Sinoatrial Nodal Reentry / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology