[An hypothesis of the pathogenesis of diarrhoea in the rabbit based on a study of intestinal contents].

Experimental diarrhoea was induced in young rabbits by inoculation with Eimeria intestinalis and E. flavescens. The mineral composition of the intestinal contents was studied and compared to those of control animals. In the jejunum, ileum, caecum, proximal and distal colon, the sum (Na+ + K+) was linearly related to the water content of those segments. The regression lines were the same for all the animals, but the means were different, indicating that the defect in water absorption was due to a lack of sodium reabsorption at the site of coccidia implantation. In the colon, sodium was reabsorbed against potassium secretion. This exchange diffusion mechanism explains the excessive loss of potassium in rabbit diarrhoea as well as the marked hypokalemia.