Adaptation of Electrolytes and Fluid Transport in Rat Small and Large lntestine After Distal Small Bowel Resection

Na+ , e¡- and water transpon werc studied in jejunum , caecum and colon after either 50 % or 80 % of small bowel resection (SBR). Four weeks after surgery, dry and wet weights, ner absorprion in vivo of sodiu m , chloride and water were detem1ined . There was a significant intestinal growth after 50 % or 80 % SBR exccpt for the colon w hich only showed increased tissue mass after 80 % SBR. Net transpon was stimulated both, pcr organ and per unir mass. In the small intestine and caecum both organ growth and chan ges in cell function appear ro be in volved in the adaptiv e response, regardless th e extcnt of the small intestine resected. In the colon, com pensatory grow th appear ro contribute to rh e adaptive response only after 80 % SBR, whilst t he transpon function of the colonocytes seems to be stimulatcd after both types of SBR .