Fasciola hepatica: a technique for the study of gut penetration by juvenile flukes

A method using light and electron microscopes is described which is suitable for the examination of gut penetration by juvenile Fasciola hepatica. It involved the ligation of small sections of the small intestine of rats and the introduction of artificially excysted flukes into these gut loops. By restricting the area of infection in this way it was possible to either recover flukes from the gut lumen or to prepare ultrathin sections for electron microscopy of flukes penetrating the gut wall. In addition, flukes were recovered from the body cavity at various times after preparation of loops in resistant and naive rats. It was found that more flukes reached the body cavity in naive rats than in resistant rats, demonstrating a resistance to infection in the gut loops of sensitized rats.