AUTO-REGULATION OF GASTRIC SECRETION. 153 



consideration, and judgment with respect to the substance introduced 

 into the buccal cavity. These latter facts are of such importance that I 

 should like to go more fully into two conclusions to be drawn from them 

 the one of a more practical, the other of a more theoretical nature. 



It is quite clear that the activity of even such apparently insig- 

 nificant organs as the salivary glands penetrates unconsciously into our 

 everyday psychical conditions through sensations, desires, and thoughts 

 which in their turn exert an influence on the work of the glands them- 

 selves. We see no reason why the same should not apply to the other 

 organs of the body. It is, indeed, by means of such unconscious im- 

 pressions that the usual physiological processes of our bodies are guided. 

 Viewed from this aspect, the rationale is at once apparent which 

 underlies the prevalent conviction that a deep and lasting sorrow, which 

 seizes hold of one's whole mental existence, reacts upon the body and 

 renders it an easy prey to every form of disease. On the other hand, 

 a cheerful disposition tends to develop and strengthen the body by 

 increasing its susceptibility to every invigorating emotion of life, to 

 every beneficial influence which acts upon, the physical and psychical 

 being. 



Further, it is clear that the adaptation of the salivary glands is a 

 phenomenon of the same order as that, for example, of the pancreas. 

 Hence, if we could analyse step by step the adaptation in the latter 

 organ, and if it be open to us to regard the process in the salivary 

 glands as the more primitive form, we have here a clear physiological 

 scheme for the study of the development of psychological phenomena. 



Thus a way is open to us, even here, towards a synthetic study of 

 the whole indivisible life. 



In order to definitely settle some new as well as old problems 

 relative to the secretion of gastric juice, we found it necessary to 

 perform still more complicated operations upon our dogs than we 

 had heretofore done. Thus the following operations were successively 

 carried out on one and the same animal. In the first place an ordinary 

 gastric fistula and then an isolated cul-de-sac of the stomach were 

 formed. Further, a duodenal fistula (provided with metallic cannula) 

 was made, and finally the cavity of the large stomach was shut off 

 from the duodenum by a septum formed in the region of the pylorus 

 of mucous membrane only. To permit of the dog being fed daily in 

 the ordinary way, the gastric and duodenal fistulas were connected 

 externally by means of glass arid indiarubber tubes. Dogs thus 

 operated upon are exceedingly convenient to experiment upon. (In- 

 vestigations of Dr. A. P. Sokolow.) With such animals it can easily 



