An in vivo model for the simultaneous study of motility of the gallbladder, sphincter of Oddi and duodenal wall in the cat

Abstract

An in vivo model for the simultaneous study of motility of the gallbladder, sphincter of Oddi and the duodenal wall in species with an intraduodenal location of the sphincter has been developed. Gallbladder motility is registered by manometry, while trans-sphincteric flow and duodenal wall motility are recorded by perfusion methods. The sphincter of Oddi proper is totally uninfluenced by any mechanical procedures since the outflow of fluid is collected via a funnel-shaped human femoral vein graft fixed to the duodenal mucosa by tiny sutures peripheral to the sphincteric muscle. The motility of the duodenal wall influences the flow of saline through a small feline vein graft inserted across the duodenal wall. The method is described in detail as well as nerve stimulation experiments and some pharmacological tests (e.g. infusion of substance P) to demonstrate the usefulness of the method. With this method the physiology and pharmacology of this region can be investigated in species, which, like man, have an intraduodenal location of the sphincter of Oddi.