Experimental thoracic duct shunt.

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Abstract
A technique for long-term external thoracic duct venous shunting in the goat is described. To avoid clotting and protein depletion, the perfusion system was designed so that heparinized saline ran into a permanent vein reservoir and mixed with the collected lymph before it was shunted into the venous system. A constant-infusion pump delivered a diluted solution of heparin into the vein reservoir at a rate of approximately''2 ml/hr. The shunts remained open for 4-6 weeks and yielded approximately 8 million lymphocytes/ml. The preparation should prove useful as a source of lymphocytes and for studies of lipid absorption.