Studies on the intestinal flora. II. Bacterial flora of the small intestine in patients with gastrointestinal disorders.

The type and distribution of bacteria in the jejunal juice of patients with a variety of gastrointestinal conditions that might affect the small intestinal flora were examined. Bacterial colonization of the jejunum defined, in this context, as the occurrence of a bile salttolerant flora consisting of both aerobic and anaerobic bacteria qualitatively resembling that of faeces, was observed only in patients with some form of blind loop. Prominent among the bacteria isolated from these colonized juices were non-sporing anaerobic bacteria, most usually Bacteroides, able to hydrolyse bile salts. No simple correlation between the patient's fat excretion and bacterial colonization of the jejunum could be demonstrated.