Fig. 1. Temporal relationship of lower esophageal sphincter (LES) relaxation to retrograde giant contraction (RGC), retching, and vomiting. This figure shows that LES relaxation is the initial digestive tract event associated with emesis and it lasts the entire length of the process. S, swallow; R, retching; V, vomiting; ESOth, thoracic esophagus; A, antrum; D, duodenum; J, jejunum; # cm from pylorus; ʃ, integral; DD, diaphragm dome; DH, diaphragm hiatus. P3Ht, mean maximum height of Phase 3 of the migrating motor complex. Solid bars indicate periods of LES relaxation associated with vomiting. The upward vertical arrow and noted time in this and all figures indicates the time of occurrence of the applied stimulus before the time of the arrow. All recordings are strain gauge recordings. Adapted from Lang.
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