Survival after massive small bowel resection is an uncommon event in man. 1. 2 Malabsorption in the survivors correlates roughly with the extent and site of resection and with the state of health of the remaining intestine. 2-4 To our knowledge, adequate quantitative morphological evaluation of the residual bowel has not been done in man.

In animals, experimental resection of portions of small intestine has caused changes in various parameters of absorption. 5• 6 Radiographic estimate of changes in residual small bowel in rats has been attempted. 7 After segmental small bowel resection in rats, the epithelial cells migrate more rapidly up the intestinal villi, and the weight per unit length of remaining small intestine increases. 8-9 FlintI and Clatworthyll claim to have shown in dogs that villous hypertrophy occurred following resections of one-half to three-quarters of the small intestine. Bochkov showed in dogs and again in rats that an increase in the length of villi occurred after resection of up to 50% of small intestine. No change in number of cells per unit length was demonstrated. 12, 13