Oesophageal transit of a radionuclide solid bolus in normals

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the physiological transit pattern of a compact bolus through the oesophagus in normal subjects. A standard gelatine bolus labelled with 99mTechnetium pertechnetate was swallowed in the erect and the supine positions and traced by a gamma-camera in 20 subjects. In the erect position, the mean overall transit time was 5.5 +/- 1.1 s (SD) which differed significantly (P less than 0.001) from the longer mean overall transit time of 6.9 +/- 1.4 s (SD) in the supine position. The transit patterns differed between erect and supine positions. In the erect position, the bolus travelled at a constant velocity until the most distal part of the oesophagus where a slight retardation of the velocity occurred, whilst in the supine position, a uniform retardation of the velocity was seen which was slightly accentuated in the most distal part. The present data provide a basis for the evaluation of studies on the bolus transport in patients with suspected oesophageal dysfunction.