Satiety role of the small intestine examined in sham-feeding rhesus monkeys.

A sham-feeding preparation utilizing rhesus monkeys was employed to investigate the anatomical site of origin of satiety signals in the gastrointestinal tract. A series of experiments in which food was diverted from the stomach, the small intestine, or both demonstrated that (a) food acting at the pregastric level is not sufficient to produce normal-sized meals, (b) the accumulation of food in the small intestine is necessary to produce normal-sized meals, and (c) a potent preabsorptive or postabsorptive satiety signal originates at the intestinal level. This unidentified satiety signal is sufficient to elicit satiety, can be dissociated from gastric emptying, and does not require the presence of gastric distention to operate.