A Note on the Fisher-Parsons Surface Area Formula in the Light of Mucosal Fresh and Dry Weights of Rat Small Intestine

Abstract

With the exception of the oral end, the mucosal fresh weight (mg/cm segment) of rat small intestine can be calculated using the Fisher-Parsons formula for the mucosal surface area (cm²/cm segment) multiplied by a factor of five. The dry weight does not follow the surface area formula owing to the fact that the dry weight/fresh weight ratio is not constant along the whole small intestinal length, but decreases in the aboral segments.

Key-words:

• Small intestine
• mucous membrane
• rats