W. Austad, L. Lack, M. P. Tyor
Apr 1, 1967
Citations
2
Influential Citations
117
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Quality indicators
Journal
Gastroenterology
Abstract
Summary 1.The enterohepatic recirculation of sodium taurocholate-24-C 14 was studied in 2 volunteer medical students and 2 patients with disorders of the distal small intestine. One patient had a jejunocolic fistula created surgically for the management of obesity, and the other had irradiation for a carcinoma of the cervix. 2.In the normal subjects, the exponential decline in specific activity, counts per minute per milligram, of sodium taurocholate-C 14 in duodenal samples permitted estimation of the kinetics of the enterohepatic circulation. These observations, when compared with previous investigations, suggest that approximately 30% of the cholate pool in normal man consists of cholic acid conjugated with taurine. 3.Significant steatorrhea was demonstrable in both patients. However, their proximal small intestine appeared normal from morphological and biochemical studies. The Schilling test was abnormal in both patients. 4.A virtual absence of enterohepatic recirculation for sodium taurocholate-C 14 was demonstrated in 2 patients. In addition, recirculation of unconj ugated or newly conjugated cholate-C 14 was negligible. 5.These experiments demonstrate clearly the importance of the distal small intestine in maintaining the enterohepatic recirculation of sodium taurocholate. They also point up the importance of an intact enterohepatic circulation of bile salts to the over-all process of lipid absorption in man.