Emulsified and unemulsified fat was infused intraduodenally at a steady rate in unanaesthetized rats with lymph fistulhe. The output of esterified fat in the lymph reached a steady state which was considered to mirror fat absorption from the lumen. In animals which also had bile fistulae the effect of addition or removal of sodium taurocholate was measured.Unemulsified olive oil or oleic acid and mono-olein sol was poorly absorbed in the absence of bile. Emulsified olive oil was better, but still incompletely, absorbed. In all these cases the addition of sodium taurocholate increased the absorption to that found in control animals with normal bile flow. Emulsified oleic acid was as well absorbed in bile fistula animals as in controls and the return or removal of taurocholate did not affect the output of esterified fat in the lymph. These results do not support a defect in epithelial re-esterification of fatty acids in the absence of bile.WHEN fat is infused at a steady rate directly into the duodenum of unanawsthetized rats, within a few hours the output of fat in the thoracic duct lymph reaches a plateau mirroring the absorption of fat [Shepherd and Simmonds, 1959]. When fat absorption is altered after a steady state has been established, the change is soon reflected in the lymphatic output of fat [Bennett et al., 1962] and so each experiment provides its own control period. This technique has been used to determine the effect of bile salts on the absorption of emulsified and unemulsified olive oil and oleic acid and of a mono-olein sol in rats with external bile fistulae. The aim was to evaluate the relative importance of the effect on lipolysis and on dispersion of triglyceride and digestion products in the lumen, on re-esterification during passage through the epithelium [Dawson and Isselbacher, 1960] and on the pathway of absorption [Borgstrom, 1953].
METHODSOperative Procedures-Male albino rats weighing 200-220 g. were fasted overnight. Under ether anaesthesia a thoracic duct fistula was established in each rat [Bollman et al., 1948] and at the same time a fine silicone rubber cannula was introduced into the duodenum through a fundal incision in the stomach. The tip of the duodenal * This work was carried out with the aid of grants from the National Health an(d Medical Research Council, Canberra, and the Medical Researchl Grants Committee, The