A model for longitudinal motility of the small intestine

Longitudinal motility of the small intestine is an instance of smooth muscle activity. Its correlation with the characteristics of the electrical slow wave of the intestine is of fundamental importance in understanding the behavior of the intestine and its functions. From a fluid-mechanical point o f view, the small intestine is an organ which acts on the chyme in its interior to generate several flow processes which are deterministically related to the wall motion. In this paper, a simple model for the longitudinal motion of the intestinal wall is formulated and applied to predict the behavior of the intestine in a particular experimental situation. Theoretical results and data from in vitro experiments in which purely longitudinal motility was obtained show a satisfactory agreement.