In the early 1960s, Dr. Alexander G. Karczmar, Professor of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics at the Stritch School of Medicine of the Medical Center at Loyola University of Chicago, was confronted with a certain technical problem concerning his studies of synaptic transmission by means of microelectrode methods. He thought that the problem might be resolved if he could interest a microelectrode expert such as Dr. Kyozo Koketsu in his studies. Dr. Koketsu was a past member of the Faculty of the Kurume University School of Medicine who as a Research Fellow at the Australian National University had helped Sir John Eccles, subse quently a Nobel Prize winner, in developing microelectrode procedures. After further considering the matter, Dr. Karczmar was pleasantly sur prised to discover that by coincidence Dr. Koketsu was his neighbor, serving at that time as a Research Professor at the Neuropsychiatry Institute of the University of Illinois, College of Medicine of Chicago. This was the beginning of a long relationship, as Dr. Koketsu joined Dr. Karczmar at Loyola as Professor of Pharmacology and Therapeutics and Director of the Neurophysiology Laboratory at the Stritch School of Medicine. It was not long before Dr. Syogoro Nishi-Dr. Koketsu's former colleague on the Faculty of Medicine at Kurume University, and at that time a Research Fellow in Neurophysiology at the Rockefeller Institute in New York joined Drs. Koketsu and Karczmar at Loyola. Although in due time Drs.

Covers all aspects of the structure, function, neurochemistry,transmitter identification and development of the enteric nervoussystem This book brings together extensive knowledge of the structureand cell physiology of the enteric nervous system and provides anup-to-date synthesis of the roles of the enteric nervous system inthe control of motility, secretion and blood supply in thegastrointestinal tract. It includes sections on the enteric nervous system in disease,genetic abnormalities that affect enteric nervous system function,and targets for therapy in the enteric nervous system. It alsoincludes many newly created explanatory diagrams and illustrationsof the organization of enteric nerve circuits. This new book is ideal for gastroenterologists (includingtrainees/fellows), clinical physiologists and educators. It isinvaluable for the many scientists in academia, research institutesand industry who have been drawn to work on the gastrointestinalinnervation because of its intrinsic interest, its economicimportance and its involvement in unsolved health problems. It alsoprovides a valuable resource for undergraduate and graduateteaching.

The enteric nervous system (ENS) is a complex neural network embedded in the gut wall that orchestrates the reflex behaviors of the intestine. The ENS is often referred to as the “little brain” in the gut because the ENS is more similar in size, complexity and autonomy to the central nervous system (CNS) than other components of the autonomic nervous system. Like the brain, the ENS is composed of neurons that are surrounded by glial cells. Enteric glia are a unique type of peripheral glia that are similar to astrocytes of the CNS. Yet enteric glial cells also differ from astrocytes in many important ways. The roles of enteric glial cell populations in the gut are beginning to come to light and recent evidence implicates enteric glia in almost every aspect of gastrointestinal physiology and pathophysiology. However, elucidating the exact mechanisms by which enteric glia influence gastrointestinal physiology and identifying how those roles are altered during gastrointestinal pathophysiology remain areas of intense research. The purpose of this e-book is to provide an introduction to enteric glial cells and to act as a resource for ongoing studies on this fascinating population of glia. Table of Contents: Introduction / A Historical Perspective on Enteric Glia / Enteric Glia: The Astroglia of the Gut / Molecular Composition of Enteric Glia / Development of Enteric Glia / Functional Roles of Enteric Glia / Enteric Glia and Disease Processes in the Gut / Concluding Remarks / References / Author Biography

Moreover, our incomplete understanding of the pathobiology of these disorders highlights a need for research directed to expansion of current knowledge of the neurobiology of the ENS at all levels of organization from the cellular biology of individual neurons to the biophysics of integrated networks to whole organ behavior. Investigation of the normal and disordered ENS and its interactions with the central nervous system is a branch of neurogastroenterology. Neurogastroenterology is a scientific and clinical subspecialty of gastroenterology that deals with the neural mechanisms that influence function of the digestive tract and that underlie projection of conscious sensations to the gut.

This book first presents an overview on the chemical coding of the morphological neuron types described by Stach in the pig intestine. In doing so, we have pointed out the difference between the definitions of type I neurons given by Dogiel and Stach. Secondly, it provides a basis for the morpho-chemical classification of human enteric neurons as revealed by their immunoreactivity for neurofilaments and several neuroactive substances or related markers.