Common bile duct ligation in rabbit: a new model of acute cholecystitis description of histology and bile analysis.

The early stages of acute cholecystitis have been difficult to investigate due to the animal models developed and utilized over the past 60 years. A new model of animal acute cholecystitis induced by common bile duct ligation in the rabbit for 1 to 4 days produces histologic changes which are nearly identical to acute human cholecystitis. These changes include subserosal edema, hemorrhage, white cell infiltration, and dilatation of lymphatics. An inflammation scoring system is described with a range from 0 (not present) to 11 (the most severe). The inflammation score was 2 +/- 0.7 in control rising to 6.3 +/- 1.2 at 1 day of ligation and increasing further with time of duct ligation (P less than 0.01 all groups compared to control). Analysis of bile lithogenic index and concentrations of cholesterol, bile acids, and phospholipids showed no differences among control and experimental groups. Our findings show that the model of rabbit common bile duct ligation produces a histologic picture identical to human cholecystitis without chemical or physical manipulation of the gallbladder or significant changes in the bile lithogenic index.