Skip to main content
The Journal of Experimental Medicine logoLink to The Journal of Experimental Medicine
. 1914 Feb 1;19(2):166–180. doi: 10.1084/jem.19.2.166

INTESTINAL OBSTRUCTION

IV. THE MECHANISM OF ABSORPTION FROM THE MUCOSA OF CLOSED DUODENAL LOOPS.

G H Whipple 1, H B Stone 1, B M Bernheim 1
PMCID: PMC2125149  PMID: 19867755

Abstract

Intoxication is evident in a drained duodenal loop whether it opens externally or into the jejunum and may be associated with more or less immunity which can be demonstrated after a period of days. Intoxication with a closed duodenal loop is identical whether the loop is left empty at operation or filled with a lethal dose of loop fluid. This again emphasizes the fact that absorption of the poison is essentially from the mucous membrane rather than from the contents of the closed loop. The intoxication of a closed duodenal loop is not modified by the presence of bile, pancreatic juice, or gastric secretion. Cessation of the normal flow of intestinal fluids which bathe the mucous membrane may be essentially responsible for the perverted activity of the mucosa and secretion of a poisonous material into the blood. Animals may be slightly more resistant to closed or drained loops during the warm months, which may be explained by the increased loss of body heat in the colder months. This indicates that cases of acute intestinal intoxication with subnormal temperature may be benefited by a generous supply of artificial heat.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (803.6 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Whipple G. H., Stone H. B., Bernheim B. M. INTESTINAL OBSTRUCTION : I. A STUDY OF A TOXIC SUBSTANCE PRODUCED IN CLOSED DUODENAL LOOPS. J Exp Med. 1913 Mar 1;17(3):286–306. doi: 10.1084/jem.17.3.286. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The Journal of Experimental Medicine are provided here courtesy of The Rockefeller University Press

RESOURCES