Manual of Clinical Anorectal Manometry

Anorectal manometry represents the most precise mode of study of the contractile function of the anal sphincter system and the pelvic floor. More recently developed manometric instruments have attempted to identify the normal pressure thresholds and the parameters defining the various pathological frameworks.

Unfortunately, the complexity of the methods, the instruments used and the data supplied has progressively distanced anorectal manometric study from clinical practice and reality, reducing both its effective use and the real utility.

Clinical Anorectal Manometry represents a true innovation in the panorama of diagnostics of the pelvic floor. The simplicity of use and the immediate interpretation of the results make it the only instrument able to provide the fundamentally available data during the patient's examination in the clinic, enabling the clinical operator to make a rapid analysis and suggest the most appropriate treatment.

The present manual provides the interpretative basis for clinical anorectal manometry and is a practical guide to the understanding of the pressure values that correspond to the fundamental activity of the sphincter muscle group and the pelvic floor.