A new model for study of pancreatic exocrine secretion: the tethered pancreatic fistula rat.

Diversion and recirculation of bile and pancreatic juice in rats are done in studies of pancreatic exocrine secretion. Previously, the modified Bollman cage was used to restrain rats with bile and pancreatic fistulas. To mimic physiologic conditions as closely as possible and to develop a more humane model, we designed a partial-restraint tethering system to study pancreatic exocrine secretion. Eight rats were prepared with biliary pancreatic, and duodenal fistulas, of which five were given enteral supplements via a gastric fistula and three were given saline supplements via a jugular venous line. Catheters exited at the nape of the neck and passed through the hollow of a cable coil that tethered the rat. On the fourth postoperative day pancreatic juice flow and protein output were studied. The tethering system allowed grooming, feeding, and ample mobility. This model of the tethered pancreatic fistula rat is a more human model for studies of pancreatic exocrine secretion in conscious rats, compared with the Bollman cage system of near total restraint.