A model of foregut activity in the blowfly Phormia regina Meigen. II. Peristalsis in the crop duct during the crop-emptying process

Abstract

The effects of the mechanical properties of the crop-duct musculature on the production of pressure increase in the crop duct by peristalsis are examined by the application of the model of Thomson and Holling to a mechanical analogue of the crop duct. Behavior of the crop-duct model in terms of the initiation of both peristalsis and reverse peristalsis reflects the observed behaviour of the crop duct of Phormia regina. Although the properties of the peristaltic wave such as amplitude, wavelength, and velocity vary in a complex manner with crop-duct volume, and also with the distance which the peristaltic wave has travelled, the structure of the model accurately reflects these variations.