Total abdominal irradiation and parenteral nutrition: an experimental study in the dog.

The influence of parenteral nutrition on digestive tolerance was studied in 26 dogs receiving total abdominal irradiation, (1 110 rads were delivered in a single dose at mid-thickness of the abdomen). We studied enzymatic perturbations (lactase, maltase, alkaline phosphatase and enterokinase) in the duodenum, jejunum and ileum and we observed a correction of the 75% decrease of the intestinal enzymatic activities after total abdominal irradiation in the dogs fed exclusively by parenteral routes while the dogs fed orally died in few days with severe digestive and metabolic disturbances.