CIRCULATORY DISTURBANCES PRODUCED BY ACUTE INTESTINAL DISTENTION IN THE LIVING ANIMAL

Abstract

THE EFFECT of distention on the intestinal circulation has been a matter of interest to surgical investigators for many years. The problem has been approached from many angles and by varied techniques. Since studies of the human situation in life are not possible by presently available techniques and since most of the animal experimentation has been carried out on dogs, whose intestinal morphology and vasculature differ greatly from those of man ( Noer,¹ Noer, Derr and Johnston²), it has appeared worth while to reinvestigate the problem by newer techniques in an animal whose circulation may be considered more nearly comparable to that of the human being. This presentation describes findings obtained through quartz rod transillumination studies of the circulation in the living rabbit intestine during increasing increments of distention. Previous investigations of the effects of distention on the intestinal circulation have been many, and a number of the reports