NEUROMUSCULAR REFLEXES OF RECTAL CONTINENCE

The purpose of this paper is to describe the nerve pathways, reflex arcs and sphincter muscles responsible for the sensory and motor mechanisms of rectal continence. The data from which the reflex arcs were deduced were obtained from anal and rectal pressure profiles in children with normal and malformed rectums, and in children with injuries and deformities of the spinal cord which affect the neuromuscular control. These profiles were correlated with the clinical state of continence and with the known anatomy of both normal and abnormal states. Copyright © 1969, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved