Osmolality of Duodenal Aspirate Following Secretin Infusion in Man

Abstract

Osmolality and electrolyte composition in duodenal aspirate of 10 subjects were studied following stimulation by a continuous infusion of secretin. It was observed that osmolality was variable within a single subject by more than 80 mOsm/kg in some experiments. This variation was found to be a function of bicarbonate concentration. In vivo and in vitro experiments lead to the authors’ conclusion that this phenomenon is not the result of admixture of gastric or biliary secretion to pancreatic juice.