title: Motility disorders of the colon and rectum.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The major motor functions of the large bowel include storage, propulsion and defecation. New developments continue to expand our knowledge of this area and provide significant advances in the treatment of disorders of colorectal motility.
  
  
  RESULTS
  This article reviews new techniques to study colon motility and transit in health and constipation, recent published data which support the efficacy of novel and established laxatives for both functional and opioid-induced constipation, the development of neuromodulatory techniques for severe constipation and new insights into the pathogenesis and treatment of levator syndrome.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The articles referenced in this review inform the reader of new developments in understanding and treating disorders of colonic and anorectal motility and anticipate future advances.
authors.affiliation: University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, USA. axw@medicine.wisc.edu
authors.forename: Arnold
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wald
mesh_terms: D003106:Colon / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003248:Constipation / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D003672:Defecation; D005769:Gastrointestinal Motility; D006801:Humans; D012007:Rectum / Q000503:physiopathology*