Production of Cirrhosis of the Liver of the Normal Dog by High Fat Diets. ∗

Abstract

During the course of a study on the maintenance of the completely depancreatized dog, it was observed that cirrhosis of the liver developed in 8 of the 16 animals that had been kept alive with insulin for periods between 2.6 and 5.5 years. 1 Infection and obstruction of the extrahepatic bile passages were ruled out as factors that might have induced the scarring of the liver. The animals received a diet containing lean meat, sucrose, bone ash and vitamin supplements and despite its completeness with respect to calories, proteins, vitamins and salts it has been demonstrated repeatedly that this diet induces fatty livers in depancreatized dogs. Although it was recognized that the absence per se of the pancreas might be involved, it was nevertheless suggested that an important causative factor in the production of the hepatic fibrosis was the excessive deposition of fat which appeared in the liver during the first few months after pancreatectomy and remained there for long periods.

In view of the importance of the above findings, it seemed highly desirable to determine whether cirrhosis could be induced in the fatty liver of the normal dog. The observations recorded below establish for the first time that the continued presence of excessively high amounts of fat in the liver for several months stimulates hepatic fibrosis even in normal dogs to the extent that it may be called a true cirrhosis, and cause the death of the animals.

Experimental. Well nourished dogs were selected for use in this experiment. Throughout the periods of observation they were maintained on a high fat diet that contained 10 g of lard and 7 g of lean meat per kilo per day. They were fed twice daily by stomach tube when they would not eat, at 7 :00 a.m. and at 2.30 p.m.