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Hépato-Gastro & Oncologie Digestive

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Motility disorders of the small bowel Volume 19, issue 7, Septembre 2012

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Authors
Hôpital Henri-Mondor, université Paris Est Créteil, gastroentérologie, 51, avenue du Maréchal-de-Lattre-de-Tassigny, 94000 Créteil, France, Hôpital Beaujon, université Paris VII Denis-Diderot, anatomopathologie, 92110 Clichy, France, Centre agréé de nutrition parentérale à domicile pour l’adulte, centre de transplantation intestinale, gastroentérologie, MICI et assistance nutritive, pôle des maladies de l’appareil digestif, 92110 Clichy, France

Small bowel motility is a highly coordinated process of mixing, absorption and propulsion of ingesta throughout the gastrointestinal tract, eventually leading to the expulsion of residues. This complex series of processes results from the activity of the enteric nervous system to digestive smooth muscle and pacemaker activity evoked by the interstitial cells of Cajal. Abnormality in any of these components will result in dysmotility. Recently, several newer diagnostic tools and findings have highlighted our understanding of small bowel motility. At the era of neurogastroenterology, this review outlines the current understanding of the causes, pathophysiology, diagnostic evaluation, and classification of motility disorders of the small intestine.