GASTRIC LESION DEVELOPMENT IN NORMAL AND PYLORUS LIGATED RATS AFTER CERVICAL VAGOTOMY

The main purpose of this study was to further investigate the effects of vagotomy on gastric lesion development. In contrast to the usual su bdiaphragmal vagotomy. a different vagotomy at the level of the trigon um caroticum was used both alone and in combination with pylorus ligat ion (done immediately after vagal transection). The animals were kille d 15 min, 30 min. 1 h and 6 h following vagotomy. No damaging effects of sham-vagotomy. or obvious negative effects of cervical vagotomy wer e noted. Prominent lesions appeared after 1 h in rats subjected to cer vical vagotomy and significantly increased lesions in the early period of pylorus ligation were noted. No further aggravation in pylorus lig ated rats (even an apparent amelioration at 1-h interval) and no lesio ns in rats with cervical vagotomy in the latter period could be explai ned in terms of a lack of reactivity due to exhaustion preceding fatal outcome. Consistent with this, the rats subjected to cervical vagotom y died shortly after the 6-h period.