The site and characteristics of gastrointestinal electrolyte loss were investigated in eight dogs with experimental cholera induced by orogastric administration of 6-hr broth cultures of Vibrio cholerae, strain Ogawa 395. In these animals, all electrolyte losses originated in the small bowel, predominantly from the jejunum and ileum. The bicarbonate concentration of the small bowel fluid showed a progressive increase from duodenum, where it was less than that of plasma, to the terminal ileum, where it was significantly greater than that of simultaneously obtained plasma.
Charles C. J. Carpenter, R. Bradley Sack, John C. Feeley, Richard W. Steenberg