Peristalsis is a radially symmetrical contraction and relaxation of muscles that propagates in

a wave down a tube, in an anterograde direction.

In much of a digestive tract such as the human gastrointestinal tract, smooth muscle tissue contracts
in sequence to produce a peristaltic wave, which propels a ball of food (called a bolus while in
the esophagus and upper gastrointestinal tract and chyme in the stomach) along the tract. Peristaltic
movement comprises relaxation of circular smooth muscles, then their contraction behind the
chewed material to keep it from moving backward, then longitudinal contraction to push it forward.
Earthworms use a similar mechanism to drive their locomotion,[1] and some modern machinery
imitates this design.
The word comes from New Latin and is derived from the Greek peristallein, "to wrap around,"
from peri-, "around" + stallein, "to place"

Esophagus[edit]
After food is chewed into a bolus, it is swallowed and moved through the esophagus. Smooth
muscles contract behind the bolus to prevent it from being squeezed back into the mouth. Then
rhythmic, unidirectional waves of contractions work to rapidly force the food into the stomach.
The migrating motor complex (MMC) helps trigger peristaltic waves. This process works in one
direction only and its sole esophageal function is to move food from the mouth into the stomach (the
MMC also functions to clear out remaining food in the stomach to the small bowel, and remaining
particles in the small bowel into the colon).[2]

A simplified image showing peristalsis

In the esophagus, two types of peristalsis occur:

First, there is a primary peristaltic wave, which occurs when the bolus enters the
esophagus during swallowing. The primary peristaltic wave forces the bolus down the
esophagus and into the stomach in a wave lasting about 89 seconds. The wave travels down to
the stomach even if the bolus of food descends at a greater rate than the wave itself, and
continues even if for some reason the bolus gets stuck further up the esophagus.

In the event that the bolus gets stuck or moves slower than the primary peristaltic wave (as
can happen when it is poorly lubricated), stretch receptors in the esophageal lining are
stimulated and a local reflex response causes a secondary peristaltic wave around the bolus,
forcing it further down the esophagus, and these secondary waves continue indefinitely until the
bolus enters the stomach. The process of peristalsis is controlled by medulla oblongata.
Esophageal peristalsis is typically assessed by performing an esophageal motility study.

During vomiting, the propulsion of food up the oesophagus and out the mouth comes from
contraction of the abdominal muscles; peristalsis does not reverse in the esophagus.

Small intestine[edit]
Once processed and digested by the stomach, the milky chyme is squeezed through the pyloric
sphincter into the small intestine. Once past the stomach, a typical peristaltic wave only lasts for a
few seconds, travelling at only a few centimeters per second. Its primary purpose is to mix the

chyme in the intestine rather than to move it forward in the intestine. Through this process of mixing
and continued digestion and absorption of nutrients, the chyme gradually works its way through the
small intestine to the large intestine.[2]
In contrast to peristalsis, segmentation contractions result in that churning and mixing without
pushing materials further down the digestive tract.

Large intestine[edit]
Although the large intestine has peristalsis of the type that the small intestine uses, it is not the
primary propulsion. Instead, general contractions called mass movements occur one to three times
per day in the large intestine, propelling the chyme toward the rectum. Mass movements often tend
to be triggered by meals, as the presence of chyme in the stomach and duodenum prompts them.

Lymph[edit]
The human lymphatic system has no central pump. Instead, lymph circulates through peristalsis in
the lymph capillaries, as well as valves in the capillaries, compression during contraction of adjacent
skeletal muscle, and arterial pulsation.