| Abstract: | The aim of this work was to investigate the effects on bile secretion of flow rate and site of reinfusion of the collected bile to the animal. Thirty-two pigs weighing 50 +/- 3 kg at the beginning of the experiment were fitted with a reentrant fistula in the lower common bile duct and in the upper duodenum. Bile collected from the bile duct was reinfused in four different ways (four groups of 8 animals each): into the duodenum or the lower common bile duct at a constant flow rate using a peristaltic pump, or into the duodenum or the lower common bile duct at a rate mimicking the flow rate of the secretion using an automatic apparatus. Reinfusing the bile into the lower common bile duct at a rate mimicking the secretion rate provided a daily bile acid production about 21% higher than the level recorded with the other three methods. This was mainly due to a higher bile acid concentration since the bile flow was only slightly affected by the treatment. |
