The Entric Nervous System brings together extensive knowledge of the structure and cell physiology of the enteric nervous system.

The Entric Nervous System provides an up-to-date synthesis of the roles of the enteric nervous system in the control of motility, secretion and blood supply in the gastrointestinal tract.

The Entric Nervous System has sections including:

• the enteric nervous system in disease
• genetic abnormalities that affect enteric nervous system function
• targets for therapy in the enteric nervous system
• many newly created explanatory diagrams and illustrations of the organization of enteric nerve circuits

Contents

Structure of the enteric nervous system

• The enteric plexuses
• Interconnections between the plexuses
• Extent of the ganglionated plexuses
• Intramural extensions of extrinsic nerves
• Electron microscope studies
• Enteric glia
• The structural similarities and functional differences between regions may have an evolutionary basis
• Development of the enteric nervous system
• Maturation of enteric neurons and development of function
• Changes in enteric neurons with aging

Constituent neurons of the enteric nervous system

• Shapes of enteric neurons
• Cell physiological classifications of enteric neurons
• Functionally defined enteric neurons
• Neurons in human intestine with equivalence to those investigated in laboratory animals

Reflex circuitry of the enteric nervous system

• Evolution of ideas about enteric circuitry
• Motility controlling circuits of the small and large intestine
• Intrinsic secretomotor and vasomotor circuits
• Assemblies of neurons
• Circuits in the esophagus and stomach
• Co-ordination of motility, secretomotor and vasomotor reflexes
• Circuits connecting the intestine, biliary system and pancreas
• Sympathetic innervation of the gastrointestinal tract

Pharmacology of transmission and sites of drug action in the enteric nervous system

• Chemical coding and multiple transmitters
• Transmitters of motor neurons that innervate the smooth muscle of the gut
• Transmitters at neuro-neuronal synapses
• Sites within the reflex circuitry where specific pharmacologies of transmission can be deduced to occur
• Transmission from entero-endocrine cells to IPANs
• Roles of interstitial cells of Cajal in neuromuscular transmission
• Transmitters of secretomotor and vasodilator neurons
• Synapses in secretomotor and vasodilator pathways
• Transmitters of motor neurons innervating gastrin cells

Neural control of motility

• Rhythmic activity of gastrointestinal muscle
• Structure and properties of interstitial cells of Cajal
• Relationship between slow wave activity and neural control
• Gastric motility
• Patterns of small intestine motility and their intrinsic neural control
• Motility of the colon
• Neural control of the esophagus
• Gall-bladder motility
• Sphincters
• Muscle of the mucosa
• Mechanism of sympathetic inhibition of motility in non-sphincter regions
• Sympathetic innervation of the sphincters
• Physiological effects of noradrenergic neurons on motility in undisturbed animals
• Reflex activities of sympathetic neurons that affect motility

Enteric neurons and the physiological control of fluid secretion and vasodilation

• Water and electrolyte secretion in the small and large intestines
• Reflex control of water and electrolyte secretion
• Secretion of gastric acid
• Pepsinogen secretion
• Gastric secretion of bicarbonate
• Secretion into the gall bladder
• Pancreatic exocrine secretion

Disorders of motility and secretion and therapeutic targets in the enteric nervous system

• Therapeutic endpoints for motility disorders
• Therapies for secretory diarrheas
• Enteric neuropathies involving neuronal loss or phenotypic changes
• Mitochondriopathies with intestinal manifestations
• Irritable bowel syndrome and plasticity of enteric neurons

Index

click here to see books of related interest