FUNCTION OF THE GALL BLADDER IN SHEEP

Bile collected from the gall bladder of sheep at surgery contained a higher concentration of solutes than hepatic bile collected at the same time. When 20 ml. bile was placed in the isolated gall bladder, fluid was absorbed at about 4 ml./hr in both sheep and dogs, and any absorption of lipids or bile salts was negligible. Pressure in the gall bladder of sheep fluctuated over a range of about 18 mm mercury: during fasting, pressure waves occurred at the rate of 3–6/hr and each lasted for five minutes; after feeding they became more frequent, and sometimes lasted for 20 min. Injection of acid into the duodenum was followed by an increase in the pressure in the gall bladder, and this response, like most of the spontaneous waves, could be almost eliminated by atropine. The gall bladder did contract in response to cholecystokinin‐pancreozymin, but this was not affected by atropine. It is concluded that the gall bladder in the sheep has appreciable absorptive and contractile activity. However, bile is produced at a more rapid and uniform rate in sheep than in animals with simple stomachs, and as a result in the sheep each unit volume of bile spends a shorter time in the gall bladder, and its organic constituents are concentrated to a smaller extent.