The name 'Interstitial cell of Cajal' (that is, ICC) is one given to a kind of neural cell which can be located in the gastrointestinal tract. Essentially, it acts as a kind of pacemaker which initiates gut contraction.
ICC can be thought of as serving as electrical pacemakers. This is because they produce electrical slow waves quite spontaneously in the body's gastrointestinal (GI) tract. These electrical slow waves then proceed to spread from ICC right to smooth muscle cells. Depolarization, which results triggers calcium ion entry as well as contraction.
It is these slow waves that make gut contractions into certain physic contractions which from the basis for both peristalsis and segmentation. These cells have been named after a popular Spanish pathologist who was also Nobel laureate, named Santiago Ramón y Cajal.
ICC can be thought of as serving as electrical pacemakers. This is because they produce electrical slow waves quite spontaneously in the body's gastrointestinal (GI) tract. These electrical slow waves then proceed to spread from ICC right to smooth muscle cells. Depolarization, which results triggers calcium ion entry as well as contraction.
It is these slow waves that make gut contractions into certain physic contractions which from the basis for both peristalsis and segmentation. These cells have been named after a popular Spanish pathologist who was also Nobel laureate, named Santiago Ramón y Cajal.