[Effect of autotransplantation on various functions of the small intestine in swine].

The effects of anoxia on orthotopic small bowel autotransplantation were studied in 22 pigs respectively on the operative day (before and after transplantation) and post-operatively (on the 1st, 3d, 5th, 7th and 15th day). Absorption of D-xylose (as evaluated by xylosemia curve) and several brush border enzyme activities were compared with histological and histoenzymological data. After transplantation D-xylose test, enzymatic assays and to a lesser degree histoenzymology showed some impairment until the 15th day. By contract mucosal morphology as evaluated by optical microscopy was normalized as soon as the 3d post-operative day. From these data it may be assumed that in allotransplantations, optical microscopic abnormalities seen after the fourth post-operative day are no longer due to anoxia but may be related to early rejection. Other functional tests could be of some value only after the 15th day.