Individual and combined roles of the pylorus and the antrum in the canine gastric emptying of a liquid and a digestible solid.

The gastric emptying of a liquid (5% dextrose) and a digestible solid (liver) were studied in 8 dogs with an intact stomach, after pylorectomy, after antrectomy, and after distal (Billroth I) gastrectomy. Pylorectomy and particularly Billroth I gastrectomy resulted in more rapid gastric emptying of the liquid. With an intact stomach, the digestible solid was broken down predominantly (93.8%) into very small particle size (less than 0.15 mm) before being passed into the duodenum. This ability was largely preserved after both pylorectomy or antrectomy. Billroth I gastrectomy resulted in the small bowel being presented with much larger particles of a digestible solid than if the antrum or the pylorus, or both, were preserved. After excision of both the antrum and the pylorus, 38.2% of the liver emptied in particle size greater than 1 mm as opposed to 2.5% from the intact stomach, 4.9% after pylorectomy, and 6.1% after antrectomy. Thus, both the pylorus and the antrum can control the gastric emptying of both a liquid and a digestible solid.