A time-space diagram of a peristaltic wave after a water swallow. High pressure values are red, zero pressure is blue-green. The ridge in the upper part of the picture is the high pressure of the upper esophageal sphincter which only opens for a short time to let water pass.

Peristalsis is the rhythmic contraction of smooth muscles to propel contents through the digestive tract. The word is derived from New Latin and comes from the Greek peristaltikos, peristaltic, from peristellein, "to wrap around," and stellein, "to place. The term New Latin or Neo-Latin is used to describe a form the Latin language used between the end of the Medieval Latin period (c Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly "

In much of the gastrointestinal tract, smooth muscles contract in sequence to produce a peristaltic wave which forces a ball of food (called a bolus while in the esophagus and gastrointestinal tract and chyme in the stomach) along the gastrointestinal tract. Smooth muscle is a type of non- Striated muscle, found within the Tunica media layer of large and small Arteries and Veins, the bladder Food is any substance usually composed primarily of Carbohydrates Fats water and/or Proteins that can be eaten or drunk by an The esophagus or oesophagus (see American and British English spelling differences) sometimes known as the gullet, is an organ in Chyme is the semifluid mass of partly digested food expelled by the stomach into the duodenum In Human anatomy, the stomach is a J-shaped hollow muscular organ of the Gastrointestinal tract involved in the second phase of Digestion, following Peristaltic movement is initiated by circular smooth muscles contracting behind the chewed material to prevent it from moving back into the mouth, followed by a contraction of longitudinal smooth muscles which pushes the digested food forward.

In the Esophagus

After food is chewed into a bolus, it is swallowed to move it into the esophagus. Swallowing, known scientifically as deglutition is the process in the human or animal body that makes something pass from the Mouth, to the Pharynx, into Smooth muscles will contract behind the bolus to prevent it from being squeezed back onto the mouth, then rhythmic, unidirectional waves of contractions will work to rapidly force the food into the stomach. This process works in one direction only and its sole purpose is to move food from the mouth into the stomach.

In the esophagus, two types of peristalsis occur.

A simplified image showing Peristalsis

• First, there is a primary peristaltic wave; once the bolus enters the oesophagus during swallowing. Swallowing, known scientifically as deglutition is the process in the human or animal body that makes something pass from the Mouth, to the Pharynx, into The primary peristaltic wave forces the bolus down the esophagus and into the stomach in a wave lasting about 8-9 seconds. The wave travels down to the stomach even if the bolus of food descends at a greater rate than the wave itself, and will continue even if for some reason the bolus gets stuck further up the esophagus.

• In the event that the bolus gets stuck or moves slower than the primary peristaltic wave (as can happen when it is poorly lubricated), stretch receptors in the oesophageal lining are stimulated and a local reflex response causes a secondary peristaltic wave around the bolus, forcing it further down the esophagus, and these secondary waves will continue indefinitely until the bolus enters the stomach.

In the small intestine

Once processed and digested by the stomach, the milky chyme is squeezed through the pyloric valve into the small intestine. The pylorus (from Greek πυλωρος = "gate guard" is the region of the Stomach that connects to the Duodenum. In Biology the small Intestine is the part of the Gastrointestinal tract (gut between the Stomach and the Large intestine, and comprises Once past the stomach a typical peristaltic wave will only last for a few seconds, traveling at only a few centimeters per second. Its primary purpose is to mix the chyme in the intestine rather than to move it forward in the intestine. Through this process of mixing and continued digestion and absorption of nutrients, the chyme gradually works its way through the small intestine to the large intestine. The large intestine is the last part of the Digestive system: the final stage of the Alimentary canal in Vertebrate Animals Its function is to

During vomiting the propulsion of food up the esophagus and out the mouth comes from contraction of the abdominal muscles; peristalsis does not reverse in the esophagus. Vomiting (also called throwing up, emesis) is the forceful expulsion of the contents of one's Stomach through the Mouth and sometimes the The human abdomen (from the Latin word meaning "belly" is the part of the body between the Pelvis and the thorax.

As opposed to the more continuous peristalsis of the small intestines, fecal contents are propelled into the large intestine by periodic mass movements. Feces, faeces, or fæces (see spelling differences) is a waste product from an animal's digestive tract expelled through the Anus These mass movements occur one to three times per day in the large intestines and colon, and help propel the contents from the large intestine through the colon to the rectum.

See also

• Peristaltic pump

External links

• Interactive 3D display of swallow waves at menne-biomed.de
• MeSH Peristalsis
• Physiology at MCG 6/6ch3/s6ch3_9
• Overview at colostate.edu