Mechanical properties of the rat colon: the effect of age, sex and different conditions of storage.

The mechanical properties of the rat colon were studied in old and young Sprague-Dawley rats which were also grouped by sex. Different storage media were used. Rings of colonic tissue were submitted to pulls on an Instron 1026 tensiometer. Gender did not affect the properties of the young rat colon. The rat colon has a tensile strength of around 50 g/mm2 (which places it between the dog and the cat). It increased in strength from proximal to distal, though the rectum was weaker than the colon. The pre-strain of the rat colon was 10% and it was capable of stretching to 200% of its original dimensions. The strength and ability to stretch fell with age, although it initially increased, in the first year of life. Physiological saline at 4 degrees C preserved the burst strength, percentage elongation, hysteresis and Young's modulus between 25 and 100 g stress for up to 1 week. Young's modulus between 125 and 200 g fell progressively with each day of storage. Stress relaxation rose in the first 24 h and thereafter remained constant. Salt appeared to be a good long-term storage medium. Irradiation of the colons before storage did not affect the mechanical properties.