The kinetics of intestinal calcium absorption in the rat: an analytical and model building study

The experimental data obtained from in vivo single pass perfusion of duodenal, jejunal, and ileal intestinal segments of 33- and 50-day-old rats have been used to test a series of models for calcium absorption. Each model was checked for the statistical validity and goodness-of-fit with the experimental data. The model adopted for the duodenum and jejunum had two major components, one saturable and the other nonsaturable, and a minor secretory component. This model was not applicable to ileal calcium absorption. Here the secretory component appeared to be much more important, and the absorption parameters varied in such a manner as to suggest that this intestinal segment was capable of short term autoregulation of dietary calcium absorption.