Skip to main content
PMC home page
Gut logoLink to Gut
. 1984 Mar;25(3):253–258. doi: 10.1136/gut.25.3.253

Influence of the vagus nerve upon the reflex control of the lower oesophageal sphincter.

A L Ogilvie, M Atkinson
PMCID: PMC1432289  PMID: 6365699

Abstract

In 24 control patients the lower oesophageal sphincter responded to graded increments in intra-abdominal pressure by a significant and sustained rise in tone. This response was abolished by atropine and was also absent in nine of 11 patients who had previously undergone truncal vagotomy for duodenal ulcer but not in the remaining two who had recurrent ulceration. In six patients studied after proximal gastric vagotomy a variable response was seen. Gastric efferent vagal function was assessed by a combined insulin/pentagastrin gastric secretory test and did not correlate closely with the lower oesophageal sphincteric response to increased intra-gastric pressure. These findings are explicable if it is assumed that truncal vagotomy interrupts the afferent limb of a reflex arc regulating lower oesophageal sphincteric tone.

Full text

PDF
257

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Angorn I. B., Dimopoulos G., Hegarty M. M., Moshal M. G. The effect of vagotomy on the lower oesophageal sphincter: a manometric study. Br J Surg. 1977 Jul;64(7):466–469. doi: 10.1002/bjs.1800640704. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Cohen S., Harris L. D. Does hiatus hernia affect competence of the gastroesophageal sphincter? N Engl J Med. 1971 May 13;284(19):1053–1056. doi: 10.1056/NEJM197105132841902. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Crispin J. S., McIver D. K., Lind J. F. Manometric study of the effect of vagotomy on the gastroesophageal sphincter. Can J Surg. 1967 Jul;10(3):299–303. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Csendes A., Oster M., Brandsborg O., Møller J. T., Overgaard H., Brandsborg M., Funch-Jensen P., Amdrup E. The effect of vagotomy on human gastroesophageal sphincter pressure in the resting state and following increases in intra-abdominal pressure. Surgery. 1979 Apr;85(4):419–424. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Dodds W. J., Hogan W. J., Miller W. N., Stef J. J., Arndorfer R. C., Lydon S. B. Effect of increased intraabdominal pressure on lower esophageal sphincter pressure. Am J Dig Dis. 1975 Apr;20(4):298–308. doi: 10.1007/BF01237786. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Dodds W. J., Hogan W. J., Stef J. J., Miller W. N., Lydon S. B., Arndorfer R. C. A rapid pull-through technique for measuring lower esophageal sphincter pressure. Gastroenterology. 1975 Mar;68(3):437–443. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Faber R. G., Russell R. C., Royston C. M., Whitfield P., Hobsley M. Duodenal reflux during insulin-stimulated secretion. Gut. 1974 Nov;15(11):880–884. doi: 10.1136/gut.15.11.880. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Greaney M. G., Irvin T. T., Chattopadhyay D. K. The measurement of resting and stimulated lower esophageal sphincter pressure using the rapid pull-through technique of esophageal manometry. Scand J Gastroenterol. 1978;13(7):799–806. doi: 10.3109/00365527809182194. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Hobsley M., Silen W. Use of an inert marker (phenol red) to improve accuracy in gastric secretion studies. Gut. 1969 Oct;10(10):787–795. doi: 10.1136/gut.10.10.787. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Khan T. A. Effect of proximal selective vagotomy on the canine lower esophageal sphincter. Am J Surg. 1981 Feb;141(2):219–221. doi: 10.1016/0002-9610(81)90161-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Lind J. F., Warrian W. G., Wankling W. J. Responses of the gastroesophageal junctional zone to increases in abdominal pressure. Can J Surg. 1966 Jan;9(1):32–38. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Mann C. V., Hardcastle J. D. The effect of vagotomy on the human gastrooesophageal sphincter. Gut. 1968 Dec;9(6):688–695. doi: 10.1136/gut.9.6.688. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Thomas P. A., Earlam R. J. The gastro-oesophageal junction before and after operations for duodenal ulcer. Br J Surg. 1973 Sep;60(9):717–719. doi: 10.1002/bjs.1800600916. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Venables C. W. The value of a combined pentagastrin-insulin test in studies of stomal ulceration. Br J Surg. 1970 Oct;57(10):757–761. doi: 10.1002/bjs.1800571015. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Gut are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES