Mesure du débit du sang de la veine porte au moyen d'un débitmètre électromagnétique chez la chèvre

Summary. Measurement of portal vein blood flow in goats using an electromagnetic flow- meter. When quantitatively measuring the products of digestion in the portal blood, the following factors are to be studied : - the difference between the concentrations of those products in the arterial blood affe- rent to the alimentary canal and of those in the venous portal blood, - blood flow in the portal vein. As a preliminary step, we have undertaken the study of the continuous measurement of the portal blood flow in ruminants (goats), using a method analogous to that employed by Rérat in pigs. Nine goats were fitted with a ring-probe around the portal vein ; during reading, the probe was attached to an electromagnetic flow-meter connected to a recor-der. Fifteen readings were taken on 4 of the animals (mean live weight : 47 kg) for about 7 hours after the morning feeding. After installation, each gauge allowed readings for 4 to 5 consecutive weeks. The signal then faded, and the animals were slaughtered and exami- ned. As the wall of the portal vein had slightly thickened and therefore its lumen was only slightly reduced, signal damping could be attributed to a change in probe functio- ning. The mean flow, measured at the time of reading, was 1 830 ml/min or 39 ml/min/kg of live weight. This study showed a large variability in the flow and distinguished 3 variations throughout the day :