The effect of secretin and pancreozymin on pancreatico-duodenal lymph flow and lipase activity in normal dogs and on thoracic duct lymph flow and lipase activity in rats with chronic pancreatitis.

Bainbridge ( I) was the first to describe that the intravenous injection of secretin enhanced the rate of secretion of pancreatic juice and thoracic duct lymph flow; he found a close correlation between pancreatic secretion and the enhancement of lymph flow. Razin, Feldman and Dreiling (2), also working on dogs, confirmed that secretin augmented pancreatic secretion and lymph flow from the thoracic duct, and observed that intravenous pancrcozymin too increased lymph flow, however, neither secretin nor pancreozymin augmented the activity of amylase in the lymph. Furthermore, lymph flow was increased by secretin a lso in pancreatectomized dogs while it was not affected after removal of the small intestine. From these observations it has been concluded that enhanced lymph flow from the thoracic duel in response to secretin is derived from the small intestine and not the pancreas. In healthy human subjects, secretin was found to augment thoracic duct lymph flow ar..d amylase and lipase activity in the lymph. whereas it failed to affect either lymph flow or lipase activity in patients with chronic pancreatitis (3). On the other hand, Bartos, Br=ek, Groh and 1\.eller (-!) obtained no d1ange in thoracic duel lymph flow in response to secretin either in healthy individuals or in patients with d1ronic pancreatitis (.5), however, secretin increased amylase activity in the lymph both in healthy subjects and patients with chronic pancreatitis while having no appreciable cff ect on lipase activity. Pancrcozymin augmented thoracic duct lymph flow in healthy individuals and, simila rly to secretin, increased the activity of amylase in the lymph. Since there is much controversy about the data pertaining to this question it seemed worth to investigate whether l. the flow of pancreaticoduodenal lymph and li pase activity in the lymph of the normal pancreas arc affected alone by secretin or only in combination with pancreozymin ; 2. whether there is a diffe rence in the secretin and pancreozymin-induced changes of thoracic duct lymph Ilow and lipase activity in chronic pancreatitis as compared to the normal pancreas.