STUDIES ON UROBILIN PHYSIOLOGY AND PATHOLOGY : III. ABSORPTION OF PIGMENTS OF BILIARY DERIVATION FROM THE INTESTINE.

Direct proof of the absorption of bile pigments from the intestinal tract is presented. Feedings of pure bilirubin by mouth to dogs, like those of whole bile, increase greatly the amount of this pigment in the hepatic bile. Control feedings of bile salts, while greatly increasing the bile quantity, cause no change in the pigment output. Instillations of pure bilirubin directly into the duodenum of dogs, appropriately intubated, are followed by pronounced increases in the bilirubin output in the bile. Feedings of pure urobilin to dogs, yielding urobilin-free bile, as result of diversion of the secretion from the intestine, are followed by the appearance of this pigment in the bile.