Electrogastrogram

An electrogastrogram (EGG), electroviscerogram (EVG) or a gastroenterogram are similar in principle to an electrocardiogram (ECG) in that sensors on the skin detect electrical signals indicative of muscular activity within.

ECA is characterized by regularly recurring electrical potentials, originating in the gastric pacemaker located in the body of stomach.

The cutaneous electrogastrography provides an indirect representation of the electrical activity, that has been demonstrated in numerous studies to exactly correspond to simultaneous recordings of the mucosa or serosa.

[citation needed] Several EGG signals may be recorded from various standardized positions on the abdominal wall, However, for maximal accuracy and analysis it is important to select the one channel with the highest amplitude.

In patients with abnormalities of stomach and/or gastrointestinal motility, the rhythm often is irregular or there is no post-stimulation meal increase in electrical power.

[7] There are following Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) and Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) codes (maintained by the American Medical Association) for cutaneous electrogastrography:[8] An electrogastroenterography (EGEG) is based that different organs of a GI tract give different frequency slow wave.

Electrogastrograms have recently been used to test physiological arousal, which was already determined by measures such as heart rate, electrodermal skin responses, and changes in hormone levels in saliva.

When the body is stressed and engages in the fight-or-flight response, blood flow is directed to the muscles in the arms and legs and away from the digestive system.

This theory states that the vagus nerve provides a direct link between the brain and the gut so that emotions can affect stomach rhythms and vice versa.

[12][13] This idea originated in the mid-1800s when Alexis St. Martin, a man with a gunshot-induced fistula in his abdomen, experienced lower secretions of digestive juices and a slower stomach emptying when he was upset.

[13] This finding is contrasted by an EGG study by Ercolani et al. who had subjects perform either difficult or easy mental arithmetic or puzzles.

There are some limitations to the use of electrogastroenterography:[citation needed] Electrogastrography or gastroenterography is used when a patient is suspected of having a motility disorder, which can be indicated by recurrent nausea and vomiting, signs that the stomach is not emptying food normally.