Journal of Applied Physiology, Vol 39, Issue 4 682-688, Copyright © 1975 by American Physiological Society
Surgical techniques for long-term studies of thoracic duct circulation in the rat
R. E. Girardet
Two techniques for cannulation of the thoracic duct in the rat, thoracic
duct shunt and thoracic duct side fistula, are described. They give access,
for repetitive sampling, to a normal thoracic duct circulation and are
suited for study of the circulation under physiologic conditions. The
thoracic duct shunt creates, with tubing, a shunt between the caudad and
cephalad ends to the cisterna chyli. The exteriorized midportion of the
shunt allows observation of the lymph. In the thoracic duct side fistula,
the short arm of a T tube is placed within the cisterna and sampling is
done via the long arm of the tube. Ten shunts functioned for 8-26 days and
10 side fistulas functioned for 8-30 days. Average lymph flow was 0.044
ml/min (shunts) and 0.042 ml/min (side fistulas). Average thoracic duct
lymphocyte output was 1,729,000 cells/min (shunts) and 2,310,000 cells/min
(side fistulas). Average blood lymphocyte count was 11,700 cells/mm3
(shunts) and 12,600 cells/mm3 (side fistulas). All parameters remained
stable during the period of study. Advantages of those techniques over the
Bollman end fistula are presented.
