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Disorders of the Anal Sphincters

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Pathogenesis of Functional Bowel Disease

Part of the book series: Topics in Gastroenterology ((TGEN))

Abstract

The anal sphincter is really two sphincters in one. It consists of an inner ring of smooth muscle, which is contiguous with the smooth muscle of the rectum, and an outer striated muscle ring, which is linked functionally to the puborectalis fibers of the levator ani complex (Fig. 1). The internal sphincter (IAS) is not under conscious control, but like all other smooth muscle sphincters, relaxes when the bowel immediately proximal to it contracts or is distended. The external sphincter (EAS) and puborectalis are under conscious control and tend to contract together, increasing the sphincter resistance and accentuating the anorectal angulation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Human Gastrointestinal Physiology and Nutrition, Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield, S10 2TN, England

    N. W. Read & Wei Ming Sun

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  1. N. W. Read
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  2. Wei Ming Sun
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, 90502, Torrance, California, USA

    William J. Snape Jr. M.D. (Director, Professor of Medicine) (Director, Professor of Medicine)

  2. University of California-Los Angeles, 90073, Los Angeles, California, USA

    William J. Snape Jr. M.D. (Director, Professor of Medicine) (Director, Professor of Medicine)

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© 1989 Plenum Publishing Corporation

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Read, N.W., Sun, W.M. (1989). Disorders of the Anal Sphincters. In: Snape, W.J. (eds) Pathogenesis of Functional Bowel Disease. Topics in Gastroenterology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-5694-3_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-5694-3_14

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4684-5696-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4684-5694-3

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