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Updated: May 4, 2026

Ex Vivo Intestinal Sacs to Assess Mucosal Permeability in Models of Gastrointestinal Disease
Published on: February 9, 2016
Developmental changes in distribution of the mucous gel layer in rat small intestine
1Department of Pediatric Surgery1 and First Department of Surgery2, Osaka University Medical School, Osaka, Japan.
Abstract:
The intraluminal mucous gel layer across the small intestine of rats aged 3 days, 1, 2, 4 and 6 weeks (n=10x5) was studied to investigate its postnatal development. Celloidin stabilisation of dried cryostat sections of small intestine, with the luminal contents, preserved the intraluminal mucous gel layer for staining by the periodic acid-Schiff reaction. Morphological differences in the mucous gel, between the villi of the small intestine, in rats of several postnatal ages were observed, most notably after the age of 2 weeks. The adhesive mucous gel layer, covering the intestinal epithelium in the small intestine, appears to undergo rapid development after weaning.
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