Electrogastrography

Electrogastrography ( EGG for short ) is an electrophysiological measurement method for gastric and intestinal motility . The myoelectric stomach activity is measured using skin electrodes.

For the measurement, an electrode is attached to the stomach, which measures the movements of the stomach muscles. These action currents of the stomach muscles can then be graphically displayed and interpreted. The procedure works on the same principle as an electrocardiogram (EKG) . The muscle contraction of the stomach is heavily dependent on current emotional sensitivities, which is why the EGG method is an interesting psychosomatic measuring instrument for assigning a physical correlate to certain experienced emotional states or vice versa.

The discovery of the EGG

WC Alvarez carried out the first electrical studies of the stomach in 1922. In a subject with extremely thin abdominal wall he put on the electrodes and registered an electrical signal having a frequency of approximately 20.1 Hz , that is, three cycles per minute ( cycles per minute = cpm) had. In this subject, in addition to the electrical signal, he was also able to directly observe the contraction of the stomach at the same frequency. The sinusoidal waves of the electrogastrogram correlated with the visible gastric contraction. From the observation, Alvarez concluded that the electrical signal measured was of gastric origin.

The discovery was largely forgotten for 20 years until 1953.

Individual evidence

^ DE Rhine: Electrogastrography in Pediatric Surgery , dissertation, Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, 2002
↑ Wilfried Wehrli: Encyclopedia of electrophysiological investigations. Elsevier Germany, p. 57. ISBN 3-437-47470-7
^ WC Alvarez: The electrogastrogram and what it shows. In: J Am Med Assoc , 78/1922; 78: 1116-1119.
↑ K. Kuhn: Electrogastrography: Evaluation of standard values taking into account aging and external interference. , Dissertation, Ruhr University Bochum, 2001
↑ PW Ingram, DL Richards: Observations of potential differences of the human stomach by a new electrode and measuring system. In: Gastroenterology , 25/1953, pp. 273-89.

literature

Ruhland et al. Gastric dysmotility in patients with major depression. J Affect Disord. 2008 Feb 18; PMID 18289697
RM Stern, KL Koch Handbook of Electrogastrography. Oxford University Press, 244 pp. ISBN 0-19-514788-X
Young-Hee Lee, electrogastrography and 13C-acetate breath test for the non-invasive gastric emptying measurement of a physiological, liquid-solid test meal - validation based on the correlation with gastric emptying scintigraphy in diabetics and testing of reproducibility in healthy volunteers. , Dissertation, Ruhr University Bochum, 2000

Web links

Selected Topics on Electrogastrography: Electrical phenomena in the human stomach

[1] DE Rhine: Electrogastrography in Pediatric Surgery , dissertation, Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, 2002

[2] Wilfried Wehrli: Encyclopedia of electrophysiological investigations. Elsevier Germany, p. 57. ISBN 3-437-47470-7

[3] WC Alvarez: The electrogastrogram and what it shows. In: J Am Med Assoc , 78/1922; 78: 1116-1119.

[4] K. Kuhn: Electrogastrography: Evaluation of standard values taking into account aging and external interference. , Dissertation, Ruhr University Bochum, 2001

[5] PW Ingram, DL Richards: Observations of potential differences of the human stomach by a new electrode and measuring system. In: Gastroenterology , 25/1953, pp. 273-89.