EXCRETION OF THE BLUE DYE, T-1824, IN THE BILE

Abstract

The hepatic removal of intravenously injected T-1824 was studied because of its. bearing on the interpretation of the T-1824 disappearance curve. Spectrophotometric analyses of hepatic bile and of blood serum demonstrated that very little dye appears in hepatic bile in the first 30 mins. after injn. Maximum dye concn. in bile is reached 60-90 mins. after injn.; dye concn. then declines slowly, paralleling the fall in plasma dye concn. Dye concn. in the bile is always lower than (usually less than one-half) the simultaneous plasma dye concn. but roughly proportional to it. The equilibrium dye concn. in bile is not due to the saturation of a secretory mechanism (as in renal Tm) because a 2d injn. of dye results in a 2d rise in dye concn. in bile. The concn. of dye in bile bears no obvious relation to the rate of bile flow within the limits of flow rate encountered (2-10 ml. of bile/hr.). The excretion of dye in the bile in the first 2-5 hrs. following injn. accounts for only 2-7% of the dye which leaves the bloodstream in that interval. Hence liver function is presumably not a limiting factor in the rate of dye disappearance. The concn. of dye in bile parallels (but at a lower level) that of dye in thoracic duct lymph.