Surgical procedure for modifying the duodenum in cattle to measure bile flow and the diurnal variation in biliary manganese, iron, copper and zinc excretion.

A surgical procedure is described for modifying the duodenum of cattle so that bile can be sampled and its rate of flow measured for long periods. In 12 steers, aged three months to three years and weighing between 50 and 650 kg, bile flow ranged from 2 to 12 ml per minute, the rate of flow increasing with bodyweight. The rate of flow expressed as ml per minute per 100 kg bodyweight decreased as bodyweight increased, the regression equation being in (ml per minute per 10 kg) = 1.65-0.0022 x where x = bodyweight (kg), r = 0.871. The mean concentrations of copper, iron, manganese and zinc in bile were 8.2, 6.2, 17.1 and 3.3 mumol per litre respectively. The concentration of iron was the least variable between the steers. The average total cholate concentration was 100 mmol per litre and total solids ranged from 5.4 to 7.2 per cent. Diurnal patterns in bile flow and trace element excretion were measured in four adult steers during a period of 38.5 hours. Although the rate of excretion of iron, zinc and copper and bile flow varied throughout the period, changes could not be associated with feeding or time of day. The concentration of manganese in bile and its excretion rate varied in a reproducible manner which may be related to feeding activity. The mean output of the four trace elements in bile from the four steers during 24 hours was, copper 37.7 mumol, iron 68.0 mumol, manganese 80.3 mumol and zinc 59.6 mumol.