抄録
The present investigation was undertaken to ascertain the motor activities of thelarge intestine of fowls. Abdominal windows and balloons were employed in the ob-servations.l. The antiperistaltic waves start from the boundary portion between the colon (con-taining rectum) and the cloaca, and pass up the colon. Some of them spread to thececa and travel along the ceca to the Apex ceci. As a rule the antiperistalsis of the colonpropagate to the right and left cecum alternately.In the colon antiperistalsis occur at intervals of 5.6 to 6.3 seconds under unrestrainedcondition.2. The peristalsis which begin in the Apex ceci proceed down the ceca, but they donot enter the colon. Beside the above mentioned peristalsis, another type of peristalticmovements start from the Apex ceci.A marked difference between both types was found in the fact that the latter pro-ceeds to the anal end of the colon. The contractions are more vigorous and the pro-pagations are much more rapid. Tlaerefore, it can be said that this movement corre-sponds to the so-called mass peristalsis in the large intestine of the rabbit.The mass peristaltic waves in the fowl occur in both sides of the cecum at tlae sametime, and they propagate to the colon as a single wave. The mass peristalsis take placeat intervals of 19 -67 minutes, but under restraint the movements occur with difficulty.3. At the time of the occurence of mass peristalsis, the movement of the cloacaappears simultaneously, and it could not be observed that either of the movements occurindependently.4. The cloaca exhibits peristaltic contractions, which originate in the beginningportion of that organ and proceed to the anal end.The inflation of the balloon inserted in the colon caused the cloaca movennent to-gether with the mass peristalsis in the ceca, and a similar phenomenon was also foundin case of cecal dropping. When the cloaca of the fowl, the colon of which had beencut at the part near the end, was distended in like manner, tlne same activity as thatin the normal bird was observed.From this fact it was confirmed that the peristaltic movement of the cloaca doesnot occur by propagation of the mass peristalsis.5. On the basis of the results described abo
