Emptying of the Gall Bladder in Monkeys

Abstract

It has been clearly shown that in certain species of mammals, such as the opossum 1 and the rabbit, 2 there is little if any emptying of the gall bladder after meals, although Walsh reports that partial evacuation in the rabbit may be induced by cholecystokinin. 3

It is of especial interest, therefore, to ascertain the rate of emptying of the gall bladder in animals nearest man. Through the courtesy of Dr. J. C. McKinley, 5 specimens of Macacus rhesus were made available for study, and the gall bladder of each visualized: first, by intravenous injection of tetraiodophenolphthalein, and afterwards, by direct introduction of lipiodol at the time of laparotomy.

Two of the animals (both of them females) failed to exhibit shadows after the Graham test and failed, subsequently, to empty the lipiodol after a meal of egg yolk. In one of these there was a supracolic peritonitis. In the other, as revealed by serial sections, there was a subacute or chronic cholecystitis with marked infiltration of plasma cells and lymphocytes, but with intact epithelium. This condition is of value as indicating what degree of inflammation is sufficient to prevent concentration of the dye.

In the remaining 3 animals (all males) the gall bladder was readily visualized and exhibited rapid evacuation of bile after a meal of egg yolk. The first one emptied half of its contents in the first 36 minutes (Graham method); the second one, 3/4 of its contents in 24 minutes (Graham method), and all of its lipiodol in 32 minutes; the third one evacuated most of its lipiodol in 27 minutes and disposed of the rest within the next 19 minutes. Nothing comparable to this initial rate of emptying has been found in any other species except man 4 and definitely establishes the supremacy of the primate gall bladder.