Quantitative study of intestinal fluid loss in irreversible hemorrhagic shock

¹ Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, Mississippi

The effect of circulatory hypotension on the small intestine was studied in 42 dogs. The small intestine was clamped at the gastric and ileocecal ends, and the dogs were subjected to control studies or to hypotension of 30 or 40 mm Hg, with and without Dibenzylene, atropine, or vagotomy. The dry gut weight, the wet gut weight, the lumen contents, and the survival time were measured. The increase in gut weight was related entirely to the accumulation of fluid in the lumen of the gut. Vagotomy did not reduce the quantity of fluid in the gut lumen, but Dibenzylene reduced the amount and atropine abolished the accumulation of fluid. It is suggested that local irritation of the gut by anoxia causes secretion of fluid and hypermotility of the gut.