Intestinal electrical activity: a means of assessing viability

Experiments on ten dogs confirm the impression that electromyographic activity is an important criterion of viability of the intenstine subjected to vascular insults.

In all animals gangrene occurred only with complete loss of electrical activity; minimal activity (0·3 mV) was compatible with recovery.

For acceptance in clinical practice it will be essential to prove by further experimental work that an electrically inactive bowel is indeed gangrenous.