Homotransplantation of multiple visceral organs.

ECENTLY, considerabIe information has R been obtained on the behavior of liver homografts, by Moore et aI. [8] and in our own Iaboratory [IO,II]. The large and immunoIogicaIIy active Iiver homografts were rejected in roughIy the same time sequence as smaIIer and less com~lex tissues. In our studies, the manner of rejection differed from the usuaI situation in that widespread changes were evoked in the host reticuIoendotheIia1 svstem, invoIving the lungs, kidneys, lymph nodes, bone marrow and other organs. The functional response of the transpIanted Iiver was substantiaIIy the same, both in Moore's studies [8] and in our own [ I I ] . In a11 our animaIs, jaundice deveIoped by the fifth day, and the animals died from one to sixteen davs later. In the present study, other abdomina~ viscera were added to the Iiver, to constitute a reIativeIy enormous muItiorgan graft consisting of the Iiver, spIeen, pancreas, omentum, stomach, smaII bowel and coIon. The behavior of the Iiver as a constituent of the muItiviscera1 graft was compared with that previously studied with homotranspIantation of the Iiver alone. Since the graft contains the major or ti on of the reticu1oendotheIiaI system of the body, particuIar attention was paid to the possibility of a graft versus host reaction.