[An experimental model of continuous biliary and vascular access in the free rat: a study of the changes in biliary function under the influence of the parenteral administration of amino acids].

Total parenteral nutrition is associated with different hepatic alterations such as cholestasis, steatosis or cholelithiasis. To study such alterations anaesthetised rats, in which the enterohepatic circulation of bile acids is interrupted, have been widely used. A model of free moving rat with venous and biliary catheterization has been developed in this work. This overcomes the interferences induced by anaesthesia as well the alterations in hydrostatic pressure or restraint-induced stress present in other models. The use of our animal model has confirmed previous data from anesthetised rats indicating that parenteral solutions of amino acids induce a cholestasis effect, with decreases in bile flow but not significant change in bile acid secretion.