Isolated Perfusion of the Small Intestine Using Perfluorotributylamine as Artificial Oxygen Carrier

Abstract

Together with the growing awareness that the small intestine represents an organ with very differentiated metabolic, immunological and endocrinological functions, an organ that as a “first line of defense” may be an important site of drug metabolism, or — more generally — an organ that is involved in the absorption, metabolism, transport and secretion of a multitude of exogenous and endogenous compounds, numerous investigations have been concerned with attempts to develop useful preparations for the evaluation of its functions (1,2,3,4). Vascular perfusion techniques are well suited for providing such information. They permit the study of the intact organ under almost physiological conditions with access to the lumen, the arterial and venous circulation and even to the lymphatic drainage.