Physiologic Observations on Experimentally Produced Ileus.

In his discussion of ileus, Nothnagel divides the condition into two classes: 1, Mechanical ileus, in which there is occlusion of the intestine; 2, dynamic ileus, in which there is a syndrome of occlusion of the bowel, without, however, closure of the lumen. The second class of cases occurs whenever the intestine becomes paralyzed, paretic or spastically stenosed.1Since an earlier paper in this discussion is concerned with intestinal obstruction, we shall not repeat here our observations, already published,2on certain physiologic changes following mechanical closure of the bowel. In that publication we raised the question as to the location of dynamic ileus. Is it of central or peripheral origin? In this research an attempt is made to answer that question. In dynamic ileus we are dealing directly with a failure of normal peristalsis. True peristalsis, according to Bayliss and Starling, is a coördinated movement dependent on this