The Nutrition of the Mouse

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Abstract
Microscopic and cultural examinations of the small intestine and the cecum of A strain mice on stock ration and 2 synthetic diets were carried out. Mice fed each of these diets had a characteristic cecal flora; on the stock ration it consisted of a slender, gramnegative, curved rod; on the 2 synthetic diets cocci characterized each of them. Coliforms were not found to be present in significant numbers on 2 of the diets and were found in large numbers in less than half of the mice on diet 101. The mice on the stock diet had a larger bacterial population per gram of cecal contents and per cecum than the mice on synthetic diets. There was no significant difference between the 2 groups of mice on synthetic diets. The weights of the cecal contents of the animals on stock ration were greater than those of the animals fed synthetic diets. There was little difference between the animals on synthetic diets with respect to weights of cecal contents.
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