[Development of cecal microbial flora following surgical isolation of the large intestine in swine].

Abstract

An ileo-rectal anastomosis was created in growing pigs. The caecum and colon were left in place and their contents slowly emptied through a cannula located in the distal colon; accordingly, no food arrived in this caeco-colic compartment. Animals were slaughtered 14 to 54 days after the surgical operation. Using a quantitative differential analysis technique, the large intestine microflora were studied upon operation and at slaughter. It was observed that the number of strictly anaerobic bacteria did not vary or only slightly increased according to cell population counts. The most marked variations involved disappearance of the Lactobacillus population in all animals and disappearance of some morphological types of bacteria found in the dominant flora at the beginning of the experiment.