The influence of the vagus nerves on the biliary system

Abstract

Vagotomy has become accepted as a standard operation for the treatment of peptic ulcer during the past 15 years. Although used to treat a specific lesion in the stomach or duoddenum, vagus division can have a much wider effect on the digestive system, but little attentionhas been paid by most surgeons to the efffects of the vagus on other organs and it is timely to review the influence of the vagus nerves on the biliary system. In 1887 Ruggero Oddi suggested that the sphincter which is named after him was partly controlled by a nervous reflex. Since then many anatomists, physiologists, and clinicians have investigated the effects of the vagus nerves on the biliary system. The anatomical distribution of the vagus nerve and its hepatic and coeliac branches has been more thoroughly worked out than have their physiological effects.