[Comparison of different morphometric methods to estimate the surface of the rat intestinal mucosa. Their...

In contrast to the human small intestine with predominantly fingerlike villi, trapezoid forms are encountered in the small bowel of the rat. For this reason, it is doubtful whether it is sufficient to measure the villus height alone as a representative parameter for the assessment of the villus surface. In this study, the method developed by Clarke is employed to calculate the villus surface per unit area of intestine. The data obtained by this method are compared with those estimated planimetrically. Correlations were then established between the absorptive capacity and enzymatic activity of the intestinal mucosa on the one hand, and the villus height or the villus area obtained by each method on the other hand. Under our experimental conditions--a hyperregenerative transformation of the intestinal mucosa caused by chronic exposure to glucagon--the results indicate that the calculated villus surface per unit area of small intestine correlates better than the villus height with the functional parameters of the intestinal mucosa.