Über den Cholesteringehalt der menschlichen Darmwand

Abstract

Pieces of the whole wall of esophagus, duodenum, ileum and sigmoid flexure were deprived of mesentery, larger vessels and appendices epiploicae. They were dried and the amount of cholesterol estimated by the digitonin precipitation method. The material was from 13 patients of widely varying ages who died with various diseases. There was great variation in the results obtained but usually the values were smallest in the esophagus while next came those in the ileum, duodenum, and sigmoid flexure. Further tests showed that there was no coprosterol in the wall of the colon. The authors believe that the high values found in the sigmoid were due to excretion of cholesterol into the bowel.