Mixing and moving in the gut

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Abstract
The results confirm the critical importance of Ca2+ in excitation–contraction coupling in smooth muscle and as a charge carrier in the generation of action potentials in both the muscle and myenteric neurones. Calcium waves, as mentioned in the title, are presumed to be a reflection of the propagation of muscle action potentials and associated muscle contraction. The authors’ descriptions of the spread of the Ca2+ waves in the 1 mm2 patch of tissue and collisions of waves as they spread into the same region from opposite directions show in another format the well known functional syncytial properties of intestinal smooth muscle and cell-to-cell electrical conduction across gap junctions in this tissue.
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