ABSTRACT
Clinical evidence and the use of experimental models in laboratory animals indicate that the intestine is a reservoir of microorganisms that can cause systemic infection in the human. The purpose of this work was to study the possible effect of intestinal obstruction (IO) on the mechanical and chemical barriers that bring protection against microorganisms crossing from the intestinal lumen towards the systemic tissues. We demonstrated that 24 hours after IO, histological and ultrastructural alterations do occur, seriously compromising the structure of the intestinal barrier in 100 per cent of the studies animals. Likewise, it was observed that during the same period, microorganisms translocation from intestine to the peritoneal cavity and liver (100 and 80 per cent respectively) occurred. The lungs were spared. Changes observed in the intestinal epithelium are related to a process similar to that produced by intestinal ischemia: mitochondrial destruction, with subsequent decrease of its capacity to supply eb