Abstract: Objective To establish a hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS) model in rats by ligation of common bile duct.Methods 40 SD rats were randomly divided into experimental (n=30) and control group (n=10), and the rats had operation of common bile duct ligation or sham-operated. Two rats in experimental group and control group were sacrificed at 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 weeks after operation, respectively. PaO₂, PaCO₂ and pH were detected by blood gas analysis.Results At one week, the results of abdominal ultrasonography showed that the echo of the livers was coarse, and the bile duct was slightly dilated; at two weeks, the bile duct was obviously enlarged, and at four to six weeks, the surface of the liver was not flat in the experimental group; the histopathological examination showed that the infiltration of inflammatory cells, the formation of fibrous cords and some pseudolobules in liver tissues, and the dilatation of pulmonary microvessels in the lung tissues were observed; At the end of six week experiment, blood gas analysis showed that PaO₂ was (65.5±8.2)mmHg in the experimental group, significantly lower than【(95.5±4.5)mmHg,P<0.05】in the control, serum nitric oxide level in the experimental group was(64.1±4.5)μmol/L, significantly higher than【(32.8±4.3)μmol/L,P<0.05】 in the control.Conclusion The model of hepatopulmonary syndrome is successfully established by ligation of common bile duct in our experiment, which has the advantages of short model formation, high stability, and no toxicity.

Key words: Hepatopulmonary syndrome, Common bile duct ligation, Rats