Evaluation of gastric motility with ultrasonography in conscious minipigs.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate gastric motility of conscious minipigs with ultrasonography from contraction number of the pyloric antrum and gastric emptying time (GET). Five-month-old, clinically healthy minipigs weighing 13.5-15 ㎏ were used for this experiment. Assessment of gastric motility was performed using saline (10 ㎖/㎏) in all five minipigs. Contraction number of the pyloric antrum for 3 minutes and gastric emptying time were calculated. Gastric emptying time was considered to be the time at which the antral area returned to the basal value. The mean value of contraction number of the pyloric antrum before feeding was 1.60 ± 2.30 (mean ± SD) for 3 min and the overall mean value after saline administration was 5.40 ± 3.62 for 3 min. The mean value of GET by area was 58.06 ± 5.23 min. This data can be used as basic database for evaluation of gastric motility in minipigs as normal and various experimental models.