[Hepatic lymph and metabolism of carbohydrate-lipid metabolites in heifers].

In heifers with hepatic lymph-caval anastomosis, a non-linear correlation between metabolite concentration and the lymph flow was observed. The concentrations of the liver metabolites (beta-oxybutyric, pyruvic, caproic acids, glucose) in the lymph were higher than in the blood. Hepatic lymph rather precisely reflects the role of the liver in the carbohydrate metabolism and blood homeostasis; the liver seems to be unrelated to the metabolite transport from the liver into the common circulation. The diet consisting of 60% pellets and 40% hay appears to be optimal for the metabolism of substances and weight gain in heifers.