The basal electrical rhythm, also called the basic electrical rhythm, is the spontaneous depolarization and repolarization of pacemaker cells in the smooth muscle of the stomach, small intestine, and large intestine. This electrical rhythm is spread through gap junctions in the smooth muscle of the GI tract. These pacemaker cells, also called the interstitial cells of Cajall, control the frequency of contractions in the gastrointestinal tract. The cells can be located in either the circular or longitudinal layer of the smooth muscle in the GI tract; circular for the small and large intestine, longitudinal for the stomach. The frequency of contraction differs at each location in the GI tract beginning with three per minute in the stomach, then 12 per minute in the duodenum, 9 per minute in the ileum, and a normally low one contraction per 30 minutes in the large intestines that increases 3 to 4 times a day due to a phenomenon called mass movement. The basal electrical rhythm controls the frequency of contraction but additional neuronal and hormonal controls regulate the strength of each contraction.
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