. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2019 May 1.

Published in final edited form as: Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2018 Apr 11;15(5):309–323. doi: 10.1038/nrgastro.2018.27

TABLE 1.

Clinical utility for commonly performed investigations of anorectal physiological function.

Function	Investigation	Clinical utility
*Anus*
Motor	Anorectal manometry (conventional)	^****
	Anorectal manometry (high resolution)	^****
	Anorectal manometry (3D)	^***
	Electromyography	^***
	Pudendal nerve terminal motor latencies	^*
Structure	Endoanal ultrasonography	^****
	Transperineal ultrasonography	^***
	Endoanal or pelvic MRI	^***
	MRI muscle fiber tracking	^*
	Electrostimulation	^*
Sensory	Light touch stimulation	^*
	Anal evoked potentials	^**
*Rectum*
Sensory	Balloon distension	^****
	Rectal barostat	^***
	Rectal evoked potentials	^**
Motor	Distal colonic manometry	^**
	Rectal barostat	^***
	Rectal motor evoked potentials	^*
*Anorectal unit*
Motor	Anorectal manometry(conventional, high-resolution or 3D high resolution)	^****
Motor	Balloon expulsion	^****
Motor, sensory and structure	Barium defecography	^****
	Magnetic resonance defecography	^***
	Functional lumen imaging probe	^*

Limited clinical utility or of research interest only.

^**

Emerging technology with limited data of clinical utility.

^***

Recognized clinical utility but less commonly performed.

^****

Good clinical utility and commonly performed.