Abstract
A day to day study has been made of the calcium content of the total liver bile of dogs intubated under sterile conditions. The concentration of this element in the bile is fairly constant under physiological conditions which do not involve wide fluctuations in the secretory output. It follows that the calcium yield for each 24 hour period in general varies directly with the amount of the bile. But when this amount becomes greatly lessened, as the result of fasting, the concentration of calcium becomes markedly increased, though not sufficiently so to compensate for the lessened volume. When the bile amount rises much above the average after the ingestion of food in quantity, the calcium content, unlike that of pigment, does not become correspondingly diminished, but tends to remain the same as ordinarily. Hence when great amounts of bile are put out, so too are relatively great amounts of calcium. This is not because of the increased ingestion of the element. For neither feedings with bone meal, nor the administration of large quantities of calcium salts intravenously or by mouth has any effect to alter the biliary output of calcium. The normal gall bladder, far from secreting calcium into the bile, as some have supposed, acts to remove this element from the secretion, and removes carbon dioxide as well. The "white bile," which is a specific secretion of the bile ducts, contains but little calcium, like the mucous secretions from elsewhere in the body. The concentration is only slightly greater than that in the blood plasma, and contrasts significantly with the high concentration to be noted in true bile of the fasting animal. Evidently the greater portion of the bile calcium must be secreted, not by the duct walls, but by the liver itself. The findings have an evident bearing on the problem of cholelithiasis.
Full Text
The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (819.9 KB).
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Drury D. R., McMaster P. D., Rous P. OBSERVATIONS ON SOME CAUSES OF GALL STONE FORMATION : III. THE RELATION OF THE REACTION OF THE BILE TO EXPERIMENTAL CHOLELITHIASIS. J Exp Med. 1924 Feb 29;39(3):403–423. doi: 10.1084/jem.39.3.403. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- McMaster P. D., Broun G. O., Rous P. STUDIES ON THE TOTAL BILE : I. THE EFFECTS OF OPERATION, EXERCISE, HOT WEATHER, RELIEF OF OBSTRUCTION, INTERCURRENT DISEASE, AND OTHER NORMAL AND PATHOLOGICAL INFLUENCES. J Exp Med. 1923 Feb 28;37(3):395–420. doi: 10.1084/jem.37.3.395. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- McMaster P. D., Broun G. O., Rous P. STUDIES ON THE TOTAL BILE : III. ON THE BILE CHANGES CAUSED BY A PRESSURE OBSTACLE TO SECRETION; AND ON HYDROHEPATOSIS. J Exp Med. 1923 Apr 30;37(5):685–698. doi: 10.1084/jem.37.5.685. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Rous P., Drury D. R., McMaster P. D. OBSERVATIONS ON SOME CAUSES OF GALL STONE FORMATION : II. ON CERTAIN SPECIAL NUCLEI OF DEPOSITION IN EXPERIMENTAL CHOLELITHIASIS. J Exp Med. 1924 Jan 1;39(1):97–116. doi: 10.1084/jem.39.1.97. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Rous P., McMaster P. D. A METHOD FOR THE PERMANENT STERILE DRAINAGE OF INTRAABDOMINAL DUCTS, AS APPLIED TO THE COMMON DUCT. J Exp Med. 1923 Jan 1;37(1):11–19. doi: 10.1084/jem.37.1.11. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Rous P., McMaster P. D., Drury D. R. OBSERVATIONS ON SOME CAUSES OF GALL STONE FORMATION : I. EXPERIMENTAL CHOLELITHIASIS IN THE ABSENCE OF STASIS, INFECTION, AND GALL BLADDER INFLUENCES. J Exp Med. 1924 Jan 1;39(1):77–96. doi: 10.1084/jem.39.1.77. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Telfer S. V. The Influence of Free Fatty Acids in the Intestinal Contents on the Excretion of Calcium and Phosphorus. Biochem J. 1921;15(3):347–354. doi: 10.1042/bj0150347. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Van Slyke D. D. An Apparatus for Determination of the Gases in Blood and Other Solutions. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1921 Aug;7(8):229–231. doi: 10.1073/pnas.7.8.229. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]