This study was performed to establish a platform for further studies on effects of ventilatory treatment modalities on the intestines during mechanical ventilation of acute lung injury (ALI). We tested the hypotheses that oleic acid (OA) infusion causes changes in intestinal circulation, oxygenation and metabolism, and that OA is distributed to tissues outside the lung. This was performed as an experimental, prospective and controlled study in an university animal research laboratory. Thirteen juvenile anaesthetized pigs were used in the main study, where seven were given an intravenous infusion of 0.1 ml kg(-1) OA and six served as control (surgery only). In a separate study, four animals were given an intravenous infusion of 0.1 ml kg(-1) (3)H-labelled OA. We measured systemic and mesenteric (portal venous blood flow, jejunal mucosal perfusion) haemodynamic parameters, mesenteric oxygenation (jejunal tissue oxygen tension) and systemic cytokines (tumour necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-6). We calculated mesenteric lactate flux and mesenteric oxygen delivery, uptake and extraction ratio. In the animals given 3H-OA, we measured 3H-OA in different tissues (lungs, heart, liver, kidney, stomach, jejunum, colon and arterial blood). We found that OA given intravenously is distributed in small amounts to the intestines. This intestinal exposure to OA does not cause intestinal injury when evaluating mesenteric blood flow, metabolism or oxygenation. OA infusion induced a moderate increase in mean pulmonary arterial pressure and a decrease in PaO2/Fraction inspired O2 (P/F) ratio, giving evidence of severe lung injury. Consequently, the OA lung injury model is suitable for studies on intestinal effects of ventilatory treatment modalities during mechanical ventilation of ALI.