title: Transuterine puncture of the fetal stomach provides access to the small bowel in the rabbit.
abstract: The prevention of perinatal complications of congenital gastrointestinal (GI) diseases such as cystic fibrosis may require prenatal treatment. New Zealand White rabbits were evaluated as a potential animal model to study gastrointestinal anatomy and transit in the fetus. The lengths of the GI tract of fetuses at 21/31 and 28/31 days gestation were established, and gastric volume was measured. Gastric volume at 28 days gestation averaged 2.6 mL, adequate to permit instillation of a solution into the fetal stomach. A study was then carried out to establish gastric emptying and delivery of the solution into the small bowel. Using ultrasound guidance, the stomachs of 26 fetuses from 7 litters were punctured and 0.5 mL of dilute barium was injected. A cesarean section was performed 4 h later and the progression of barium though the GI tract was measured. In 18/26 (69.2%) of the fetuses barium was successfully delivered to the lumen of the stomach. In these 18 fetuses, barium progressed to the duodenum in 15 (58%), the jejunum in 13 (50%), and the ileum in 8 (31%). The stomach of the 3.5- to 4-week-old fetus is large enough to allow transuterine delivery of a solution of dilute barium. Gastric and intestinal motility in the 25-day-old rabbit fetus is coordinated and results in delivery of barium to the small bowel in 50% of animals successfully injected. The results suggest that the rabbit is an acceptable model for the study of gastrointestinal delivery of therapeutic drugs or genes to the fetus.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA.
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Brandt
authors.forename: K J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Moise
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Eckert
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Waltrip
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Saade
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Finegold
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001464:Barium; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D005333:Fetus / Q000601:surgery*; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D007421:Intestine, Small / Q000601:surgery*; D009339:Needles; D011247:Pregnancy; D011296:Prenatal Diagnosis / Q000379:methods*; D011817:Rabbits; D011859:Radiography; D013270:Stomach / Q000601:surgery*; D014599:Uterus
chemical_list: D001464:Barium