ABSTRACT
The development of fine suture material and specially adapted instruments accelerated the application of the new techniques. Several types of shunts are possible in the portal area of the rat portacaval shunt — pancreaticoduodenocaval shunt, splenocaval shunt, mesentericocaval shunt, portorenal shunt, portacaval transposition, and combinations of diverse types of shunts. The shunts and transpositions provide suitable experimental models for studies concerning liver and portal blood flow, liver metabolism, liver regeneration, and biochemically induced neurological complications. Anesthesia for the portacaval shunt and other types of operations that alter the liver blood flow is preferably provided by ether inhalation. The portacaval shunt is a suitable model to investigate liver function, hemodynamics, metabolic and neurological changes related to portal flow, liver metabolism, and portal pressure. Shunts in the portal areas of the rat may provide valuable data but it must be taken into account that these results are obtained in healthy animals, without pathological disorders, and should therefore be interpreted with care.
