Development of intraductal protein plugs in rats fed with ethanol for 18 months.

The pancreatic tissue damage was investigated histologically in rats kept on liquid diet containing 6% ethanol for 18 months. Rats kept on a liquid diet without ethanol served as controls. The daily ethanol intake was 1.2 g/100 g b.w. The daily intake of liquid food was 26 ml/100 g b.w. (26 cal/100 g b.w.) (108 Joule/100 g b.w.) without ethanol and about the same (24 ml/100 g b.w.) with ethanol. Mortality rate was 75% in the group fed with ethanol and 30% in the control group. Ethanol decreased both body weight and pancreatic weight but did not effect the relative pancreatic weight. In histological sections no difference in character, intensity or extent of the damage was observed between the ethanol fed rats and controls. In both groups there were protein plugs in the pancreatic ducts and ductules. The noncalcified intraductal protein plugs are thought to have been induced by the protein precipitant effect of the tissue fixative applied in histology.