Comparative effects of sodium taurodeoxycholate and sodium taurocholate on bile secretion in the rat, dog and rabbit

1. The biliary effects of sodium taurodeoxycholate and sodium taurochloate were investigated in anaesthetized dogs and rats, and in the isolated perfused rat liver. 2. Both bile salts had similar qualitative and quantitative effects on the flow and composition of bile in the dog. 3. In the rat, the bile salts had similar effects on the ionic compoistion of bile, but differed in that bile flow was not always directly related to the rate of bile salt secretion in bile, in the experiments with sodium taurodeoxycholate. 4. Sodium taurodeoxycholate is hydroxylated form sodium taurocholate by the liver of the rat but not by that of the dog. 5.The biliary effects of sodium taurodexoycholate in the rat and in the dog are contrasted with its effects in the rabbit, and the differences between the three species are discussed.