The stomatogastric system of Arenicola marina L. is in the form of a plexus of nerve-bundles connecting the supra-oesophageal ganglia and the circum-oesophageal commissures with a ring ganglion situated in the gut wall at the anterior limit of the oesophagus; the plexus continues down the length of the oesophagus. Numerous sense cells occur in the epithelium of the proboscis and oesophagus. The...

Chagas disease due to a trypanosome infection may lead to extensive destruction of ganglion cells in the peripheral autonomic system and may result in gross enlargement of the oesophagus, colon, and heart. From studies on nerve cell counts it is concluded that the number of ganglion cells in the oesophagus must be reduced to less than half to produce functional disturbances in the oesophagus an...

Just a few years ago, the definition and pathogenesis of Barrett’s oesophagus seemed straightforward. Barrett’s oesophagus was the condition in which metaplastic columnar epithelium replaced oesophageal squamous mucosa that had been damaged by exposure to refluxed gastric juice. The condition was sought primarily in patients with gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD), and was identified when...

The aim of the paper is to present own experience in diagnosis and endoscopic removal of foreign bodies from the oesophagus in dogs. The study was performed on 22 dogs of different breed and sex, aged 7 months to 17 years, with suspicion of a foreign body in the oesophagus. All the dogs were subjected to a radiography of the oesophagus and oesophagoscopy. The most commonly observed clinical sig...

The prevalence of pathological gastro-oesophageal reflux in children and adolescents with asthma was studied by 24 hour two level oesophageal pH monitoring in 42 subjects aged 9-20 years with moderate or severe bronchial asthma. The importance of oesophagobronchial nerve reflexes and of aspiration of gastric acid as triggers in asthma was assessed by studying whether episodes of reflux into the...

Incidence rates for oesophageal adenocarcinoma have increased by over 500% during the past few decades without clear reasons. Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease, obesity and smoking have been identified as risk factors, although the demographic distribution of these risk factors is not consistent with the demographic distribution of oesophageal adenocarcinoma, which is substantially more common ...

BACKGROUND Prevalence of short segment Barrett's (SSB) oesophagus, defined as the absence of macroscopic Barrett's but histologically identifiable intestinal metaplasia, has been reported to be 18% based on haematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining. AIMS To define the prevalence of SSB oesophagus using H&E and alcian blue staining and to determine whether SSB oesophagus is associated with inflamm...

EDITORIAL SYNOPSIS A detailed study is recorded of a patient with the oesophagus lined with gastric type epithelium associated with a hiatus hernia, and a benign stricture and peptic ulceration at the level of the aortic arch. Investigations showed that ectopic epithelium was present in biopsies taken along the whole length of the oesophagus and that the motor function of the body of the oesoph...

The effects of the beta-1 adrenergic agonist prenalterol and the beta-2 adrenergic agonist terbutaline on oesophageal peristalsis were studied in nine healthy volunteers with pressures recorded in the proximal, middle, and distal oesophagus. Two doses of the agonists were given after pretreatment with placebo, propranolol, or metoprolol in a double blind randomised fashion. Terbutaline 0.25 +/-...