ABSTRACT
A highly predictable developmental pattern and the availability of methods to quantitate the number of parasites in the host make the nematode Trichinella spiralis a well-controlled biological stimulus to incite inflammation and perturb physiological functions in the small intestine. Relative to effects on the host, the pathogenesis of disease, as pertains to the intestine, would be influenced dramatically by the intensity of inflammation that develops. The extent and chronicity of mucosal sensitization may be used to advantage to examine immune mediated inflammation in a particular region of the gastrointestinal tract as well as at distant mucosal tissues. For example, changes in electrolyte transport in the duodenum, jejunum, colon, and uterus can be induced in trichinized hosts. The newborn larvae that are produced migrate to the skeletal muscle of the host where they induce inflammation, but eventually become encapsulated and, over long periods, undergo calcification.
