The electrical and mechanical activity of the exteriorized duodenum in otherwise intact dogs has been investigated. 2. The electrical changes described by previous workers in vitro have been confirmed in vivo, using concentric needle electrodes embedded in the duodenal wall. 3. The electrical activity consists of two components—a slow rhythmic wave followed, if visible movement is present, by a series of rapid deflections. 4. The frequency and amplitude of the slow wave were unchanged by drugs which increased, or by drugs which eliminated, visible movement from the duodenum. 5. The slow wave was found to have a linear velocity in a caudal direction of 9‐30 cm./sec. 6. It is suggested that the slow wave may be associated with the mechanism which stimulates and co‐ordinates the contractions of the duodenum, possibly the nervous networks of the bowel wall. The magnitude of the contractions depends on the muscle response to the rhythmic stimulus.
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Milton et al. (1955) studied this question.