Abstract: | The pigeon esophageal smooth muscle shows "spontaneous" rhythmic bursts of spikes with increasing discharge frequency from pharynx to crop. There are no slow waves. The changes of the electric pattern induced by pharmacological administrations of atropine, prostigmine, hexamethonium and by asphyxia suggest that the electric activity is myogenic in origin. The innervation plays a role in the control of this activity and it is essential for the functional polarization. |