“Further observations on the effects of alcohol on the secretion of bile”

Abstract

In a previous communication 1 on the effect of alcohol on the secretion of bile, it was stated that diminution in the rate of secretion of bile was observed after intravenous injection of alcohol. No definite conclusions could be reached at that time, however, as to whether the diminished secretion was due to alcohol, for a steady decline in the flow of bile was very often noticed during the periods before the administration of alcohol. Recent observations in a series of similar experiments on dogs, in which the rate of secretion remained unchanged for several periods or differed slightly, showed some diminution of the flow of bile after intravenous injection of alcohol. There was also a decrease in both the organic and inorganic constituents of the bile after intravenous injection of alcohol, but the relative amounts of solids were only slightly affected. The diminished excretion of solids, however, cannot be attributed to alcohol, for a wide range of variation prevails in the organic and inorganic constituents of the bile of untreated animals.

The effects are entirely different when alcohol is introduced into the gastrointestinal canal. The methods employed in this relation were identical with those of the previous experiments. Anesthesia was induced by ether without the aid of morphin. In every case the neck of the gallbladder was securely ligated to prevent flow of bile from that direction. A cannula was then introduced into the common bile duct and the rate of secretion studied by comparing the quantities collected for periods of 15 minutes each. In one experiment in which secretion proved to be very scanty, the bile was collected for an hour and the quantity obtained during that period was compared with the amounts collected for equal lengths of time after injection of alcohol.