RT Book, Section
A1 Sood, Manu R.
A1 Calkins, Casey M.
A2 Rudolph, Colin D.
A2 Rudolph, Abraham M.
A2 Lister, George E.
A2 First, Lewis R.
A2 Gershon, Anne A.
SR Print(0)
ID 7036950
T1 Chapter 407. Motor Disorders of the Stomach, Small Bowel, and Colon
T2 Rudolph's Pediatrics, 22e
YR 2011
FD 2011
PB The McGraw-Hill Companies
PP New York, NY
SN 978-0-07-149723-7
LK accesspediatrics.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=7036950
RD 2024/04/19
AB Propulsion  of  the  luminal  contents  along  the  gastrointestinal  tract  requires  coordinated  contractions  of  the  intestinal  smooth  muscle  in  response  to  input  from  the  enteric  neurons.  The  enteric  nervous  system  is  capable  of  independent  function  that  is  modulated  by  motor  input  from  the  brain.  Gastrointestinal  motor  function  develops  between  26  to  36  weeks  of  gestation,  but  it  is  poorly  developed  before  30  weeks  and  not  fully  developed  until  36  weeks  gestation.  Thus,  it  is  not  unusual  for  preterm  infants  to  have  poor  gastric  emptying  and  feeding  intolerance.1  GI  motility  disorders  result  from  weak  or  uncoordinated  contractions  due  to  abnormalities  of  the  neuromuscular  apparatus  or  abnormal  sensory  and  motor  input  from  the  brain.  These  disorders  range  in  severity  from  mild  disorders,  such  as  recurrent  abdominal  pain,  to  severe,  such  as  chronic  idiopathic  pseudo-obstruction  syndrome  with  intestinal  failure.2