Abstract

Experiments were designed to study the effect of proximal gastric vagotomy (PGV) followed by total vagotomy (TV) on the myoelectrical activity of the canine stomach and duodenum after a meat meal and during fasting. Dogs were prepared with chronically implanted Ag-AgCl-electrodes on the stomach and duodenum. Recordings of electrical activity were made for one hour after the ingestion of a meat meal and records of four to six hours were taken on the fasting animals. In the postprandial records no effect on co-ordination of antral and duodenal myoelectrical activity was found after either PGV or TV. These results suggest that the co-ordinating mechanism is not dependent on vagal innervation. Impairment of gastric emptying after TV does not appear to be due to disturbance of antral-duodenal conduction. Normal patterns of fasting activity were found in control and after PGV. They were grossly disturbed after TV, probably because of delayed gastric emptying. These findings suggest that PGV does not delay gastric emptying as does TV, and that the proximal vagal supply to the stomach is unimportant in the control of fasting activity.