Pharmacocholangiography.

The effect of ouabain and atropine on bile flow and bile iodine concentration in intravenous cholangiography was investigated in 4 cholecystectomized dogs (20 experiments) with complete bile diversion under general anesthesia and compared to the effect of sodium taurocholate. Iodipamide was administered intravenously with an initial priming dose of 50 mg per kg followed by a constant infusion of 2 mg per min per kg. Ouabain in stepwise increasing infusion rates, .0625 to .25 microgram per min per kg, had no significant effect. Atropine infusion rates from 1 to 8 microgram per min kg increased the bile iodine concentration up to 19% but already a 14% increase with a 5% reduction in bile flow was found with the smallest atropine dose. The lowest taurocholate infusion rate resulted in the highest bile iodine concentration and lowest bile flow. It is suggested that atropine premedication and low bile salt plasma levels might improve the opacification of the biliary tree particularly in hepatic dysfunction by reducing selectively specific fractions of the basal bile flow.