A surgical model for studying biliary bile acid and cholesterol metabolism in swine

Techniques were developed in young growing pigs to simultaneously collect and reinfuse bile. Silastic cannulae were designed and surgically implanted in the common bile duct and the duodenum. Direct sampling of the hepatic bile was achieved by bypassing the gallbladder. The techniques allowed for steady-state studies of hepatic function to be conducted in conscious swine in two different studies. Pigs, thus surgically modified, can serve as an appropriate model for physiologic, pharmacologic, and nutritional research that involves bile sampling.