152 THE ACTION OF THE LIVING CELL 



Similarly, when a given organ is fatigued, it is ren- 

 dered incapable of performing its allotted physiologi- 

 cal functions in a manner prerequisite for maximal 

 efficiency. Many years ago the writer reached the con- 

 clusion that numerous gastric disturbances might be 

 attributed to fatigue of the digestive organs. In par- 

 ticular, let us consider the digestive disturbances and 

 accompanying pain due to failure of the stomach to 

 undergo the usual cycle of contractions and relaxa- 

 tions which are necessary for the complete mixing of 

 ingested foods with the digestive enzymes of the gas- 

 tric juice secreted by this organ. 



Protein foodstuffs are digested in the stomach by 

 the enzyme pepsin, and such digestion is only possible 

 when the enzyme is brought into intimate contact with 

 its substrate. In the normal animal this is accom- 

 plished by the churning of the stomach contents, which 

 is brought about by the more or less rhythmic move- 

 ment of the stomach walls. The lack of such move- 

 ment also fails to cause ready movement of the stom- 

 ach contents through the pyloric valve into the small 

 intestine. Such being the case, the afflicted individual 

 suffers from both faulty nutrition and physical dis- 

 comfort varying from an uncomfortable sense of full- 

 ness to distinct pain. If long continued, these distress- 

 ing sensations prevent the individual from living a 

 normal physical life, and conceivably the continued 

 discomfort may lead to a mental state which prevents 

 the individual from having normal relations with his 

 neighbors — an important factor in one's environment. 



Every clinician has encountered patients whose 

 principal source of complaint may be traced to gastric 

 disorders similar to that outlined above, a condition 



