A model to study the direct effect of diet on early intestinal growth and maturation using Thiry-Vella loops.

Thiry-Vella loops (TVL) are neurovascular intact intestinal segments isolated from the normal flow of chyme. TVL have been used to assess the effects of local and systemic factors in the intestine of adult animal models. To assess the direct effect of diet in growth and maturation of the intestine in the growing animal, the authors developed a similar model in the weanling rat. The surgical technique is described. Results include weight gain, morphometry of the intestine, dissacharidases, total proteins, and nucleic acid in both TVLs and intestine in continuity. This model is inexpensive, easy to handle, and ideal for studying the effect of dietary factors on intestinal growth and maturation, separating the direct effect of diet on the intestine from systemic effects.