INOCULATION INTO THE BILIARY PASSAGES 177 



(ix) Inoculation into the biliary passages. 



In all animals in common use for experimental purposes the bile is poured 

 into the duodenum through a simple channel the bile duct of which the 

 orifice is more or less close to the pylorus. In the dog the opening is 

 4-12 cm., in the rabbit about 1 cm., beyond the pylorus, and in the 

 guinea-pig about the middle of the duodenum. The operation in the rabbit, 

 guinea-pig and dog will be described. The strictest asepsis must be 

 observed. 



A. Guinea-pig. Rabbit. 1. Anaesthetize the animal and fasten it on its 

 back. Shave the hair and cleanse the skin of the abdomen. 



2. Make an incision about 6 cm. long in the middle line commencing about 

 1 cm. below the xiphoid cartilage. Cut through the skin and aponeurosis, 

 stop any bleeding, then incise the peritoneum on a director. 



3. Identify the pyloric end of the stomach, then, using the index finger, 

 find the duodenum and bring it to the surface. The opening of the bile duct 

 will be seen about its centre. 



4. Having identified the canal, isolate and fix it on a blunt hook. Pass 

 the end of a fine needle bent at a right angle very obliquely through the 

 wall and in the line of its long axis. Inject the material. 



5. Withdraw the needle, and touch the point where it penetrated the wall 

 with a sponge soaked in carbolic water. Stitch up the aponeurosis with silk, 

 suture the skin and paint the incision with collodion. 



B. Dog. 1. Anaestnetize the animal and fix it on its back. Shave the 

 hair and cleanse the skin of the abdomen. 



2. Make a longitudinal incision in the middle line, or a little to the right, 

 about 8 cm. long, commencing a few centimetres below the xiphoid cartilage. 

 Cut through the skin and aponeurotic layer, and stop any haemorrhage. 

 Incise the peritoneum on a director. 



3. With the first finger in the wound, follow the lower surface of the liver, 

 then bend the finger to hook up the duodenum and bring the latter to the 

 surface, and to the left. 



4. Find the right edge of the duodenum, and follow it until the finger 

 meets the fold of the lesser omentum in which the bile duct lies with the portal 

 vein, hepatic artery and nerves. The duct lies superficially in the fold and 

 can be recognized by its pearly appearance, its structure, its direction, and 

 by the fact of its opening into the duodenum at a distance of from 4 to 12 cm. 

 beyond the pylorus. 



5. Isolate the duct on a small director and fix it in a blunt hook. Pass 

 the bent needle very obliquely through the wall in the line of its long axis. 

 Inject the material, and complete the operation as above. 



(x) Inoculation into the portal vein. 



The operation is easier in the dog, but can also be done, though with some 

 difficulty, in the guinea-pig and rabbit. The walls of the vein are very thin, 

 and easily torn. The technique described above for finding the bile duct 

 is applicable to the isolation of the portal vein in the dog. It is better to 

 operate as follows : 



1. Anaesthetize the animal, and fix it on its left side. Shave and cleanse 

 the skin of the part. 



2. Make an oblique incision in the right hypochondrium commencing above 

 at the junction of the last rib with the vertebral column and extending to 

 the outer edge of the rectus muscle at the crest of the ileum. Cut through 



M 



