A hydraulic behavior of the mucosal structure of the intramural common bile duct. An experimental study.

In the intramural portion of the common bile duct in the dog, the lumen is occluded by the mucosal folds which are pointed to the direction of the ductal orifice. Luminal occlusion by the folds becomes more marked from the halfway of the portion as judged from the duodenal muscle layers. A pressure study using the pressure ramp apparatus suggested that the mucosal structure plays some role in generating the passage resistance to bile floow and in the prevention of regurgitation of duodenal content.