Effects of Caecectomy in the Young Adult Female Rat on Digestibility of Food Offered Ad Libitum and in Restricted Amounts

Abstract

Caecectomized and sham-operated rats were fed a laboratory chow ad libitum and the effects of caecectomy on the digestibility of the food were studied. Compared with sham-operated controls, caecectomized rats showed a decrease in apparent digestibility of organic matter from 77·8 to 73 ·0%, of crude protein from 83·0 to 79·4%, and of 'carbohydrate' from 74·6 to 69·0%. However, faecal water content increased from 41·6 to 54·8 %. StCr-labelled EDTA was excreted faster in the faeces after caecectomy. The colon partly adapted to the loss of caecal mucosa by increased length and thus mucosal surface area.