Pathophysiology and compensatory mechanisms in a compatible host–parasite system

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Abstract
The effect of intraluminal glucose and bicarbonate on the fluxes of Na+, Cl−, and water were investigated in both infected (Hymenolepis diminuta: Cestoda) and uninfected rats.In the parasitized small intestine, the glucose-stimulated component of salt and water absorption was accelerated, and bicarbonate-stimulated Na+ and fluid absorption was enhanced by being spread over a larger region.The results are discussed in terms of the possible protective effects of an abnormally low mucosal permeability, the accelerated glucose-stimulated fluid absorption, the spreading of bicarbonate-stimulated fluid absorption over a larger region of the gut, and functional compensation by the colon. These protective alternatives in mucosal function explain how the parasitized rat gut compensates for the loss of fluid caused by defects in other transport processes, even though considerable maldigestion and malabsorption occurs.