Multiple vascular and gastric cannulation of swine for studies of gastrointestinal, liver, and peripheral tissue metabolism.

The implantation of multiple chronic indwelling vascular cannulas and of a gastric cannula into swine was described. Technics for housing, care, and handling of the animals pre- and post-surgically were established to reduce the incidence of infection and to allow collection of urine and feces in metabolic studies. This regimen has been used in 20 gilts to study absorption, tissue distribution, metabolism, and excretion of nutrients. On the average, the cannulas remained patent for 4 wk.