Propulsion and mixing of small bowel contents after laparotomy in rat

Radioactive test substances were infused slowly into the duodenum of conscious rats via a permanent catheter starting 2, 12 and 24 h after a standardized laparotomy. Two differently labelled but otherwise identical test substances were used. The first test substance (125I-PVP) was infused for 4 h, the second (131I-PVP) for the remaining 1 h of the 5-hour infusion period. Immediately after the infusion the animals were killed, and the radioactivity emanating from each isotope was recorded from the excised bowel specimen. The bowel length passed by the border zone and the degree of overlap between the labels in this zone were taken as measures of propulsion and mixing, respectively. Propulsion and mixing were uninfluenced by laparotomy as measured 2--17, 12--17 and 24--29 h after laparotomy. The present findings indicate that laparotomy is not followed by a disturbance in the capability of the small bowel to transport and mix chyme, at least when no high demands with respect to chyme volume are required.