On the rhythmic activity of the oesophagus : and the influence upon it of various media ... / P.G. Stiles.

  • Stiles, Percy Goldthwait, 1875-1936.
Date:
1902
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: On the rhythmic activity of the oesophagus : and the influence upon it of various media ... / P.G. Stiles. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Glasgow Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Glasgow Library.

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    ON THE RHYTHMIC ACTIVITY OF THE OESOPHAGUS AND THE INFLUENCE UPON IT OF VARIOUS MEDIA. By PERCY G. STILES. [From the Physiological Laboratory of the Johns Hopkins University] CONTENTS. Initial purpose of the work Method of experiment The character of the contractions Behavior in solutions of NaCl and the effects of adding CaCl2 and KC1 Behavior in Ringer's mixtures Attempts to find a substitute for NaCl in the medium Attempts to prolong activity Substitution of other Na salts for NaCl Are these contractions of neurogenic origin ? Incidental observations Conclusions Initial Purpose of the Work. THIS research was undertaken with the intention of testing the influence of various substances in solution upon plain muscle tissue, especially on the musculature of the alimentary canal and its rhythmic properties. It was a matter of particular interest to see whether this form of contractile tissue would show the same depend- ence upon Na, K, and Ca for its continued activity, as does the heart. It is well established that cardiac muscle makes its most prolonged series of beats when all three of these elements are present in suita- ble proportions in the surrounding medium. On the other hand, skeletal muscles placed in simple NaCl solution give twitches which have been called rhythmic and which cease on the addition either of CaCl2 or KC1. Hence it was desired to find out whether the plain muscle when immersed in certain baths would act like the heart or like the skeletal muscle, or in a manner peculiar to itself. The tissue chosen for study was a cross-cut segment from the oesophagus of the frog. Probably any part of the alimentary canal of this animal will exhibit spontaneous movements. Schultz1 has Page 33S 339 340 341 342 346 347 348 353 354 356 1 Schultz: Archiv fiir Pliysiologie, 1897, pp. 1, 3°7, 322-