We have analyzed the mechanics of peristaltic pumping of a non-Newtonian fluid through an axisymmetric conduit. The material was represented by the constitutive equation for a second-order fluid. A perturbation series (to second order) in dimensionless wavenumber of an infinite harmonic traveling wave was used to obtain explicit forms for the velocity field and a relation between the flow rate and the pressure grardiant, in terms of the Reynolds number, the dimensionless non-Newtonian parameters, and the occlusion. Results were compared with other studies, in both Newtonian and non-Newtonian cases. Also, we have shown that the flow of a Newtonian fluid through a rigid, axisymmetric tube with an axial, sinusoidal variation of radius is a special case of this analysis.