Abstract
Surface versus Volume Ratio of the Large Intestine. The enlargement of the large intestinal lumen expands the living space for bacteria. If the organ grows without modifying the shape by haustration or by other means, the surface/volume ratio should decrease by the growth of the organ. If we assume that microbial metabolism per unit volume of microbes is more-or-less homogenous, then the microbial metabolism per organ increases as a linear function of its volume. However, the absorptive surface, which increases only at 2/3 powers of the volume, cannot catch up with the increase in microbial metabolic rate per organ. Thus, there should be a theoretical limit where the rate of absorption for microbial products cannot meet with the rate of production. This should increase the lumen concentration of microbial products.
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