EFFECTS ON THE ALIMENTARY CANAL 303 



Marriott ('23) has recently reviewed the effects of thirst in man, including 

 the cessation of salivary secretion, with dryness of the mucous membranes and 

 shrivelling of the tongue and lips. 



The pharynx and esophagus (including crop) were found by Chossat ('43) 

 to average 34 per cent subnormal in weight in pigeons starved with loss of 40 

 per cent in body weight. Bourgeois ('70) from fasting experiments on various 

 animals (mammals and birds) concluded that there are no marked changes in 

 the mouth, pharynx or esophagus. 



Nothwang ('91) noted that in pigeons dead from thirst the esophagus and 

 interior of the crop appeared dry. 



Thiercelin ('04) found congestion and sometimes small, superficial erosions 

 in the esophagus of athreptic infants. 



Moulton, Trowbridge and Haigh ('22a) in steers on various planes of nutri- 

 tion, including some greatly retarded in growth, found the esophagus (gullet) 

 nearly proportional to the body weight in all cases. 



The experiments of Lefholz ('23) upon kittens indicate that the palatine 

 and pharyngeal tonsils are greatly affected by the character of the diet. With a 

 diet high in sugar and protein, and also in calories, these organs are nearly 

 doubled in size; while if the excess calories are provided in the form of fats, 

 they are nearly trebled in size. 



2. THE STOMACH 



Under this section will be included some general observations upon the 

 gastrointestinal tract, as well as those referring to the stomach alone. The 

 data on total inanition (or water only) will be considered first, followed by 

 the various forms of partial inanition. 



(A) Effects of Total Inanition, or on Water Only 



The effects upon the human stomach (adult and infant) will be considered 

 first; followed by the data for the infrahuman species. 



Human Adults. — Lucas (1826) cited an observation by Ballin of a contracted 

 stomach with thickened walls in a case of starvation (religious dementia). 

 From a review of the literature, Willien ('36) concluded that during inanition 

 the walls of the digestive tract become atrophic, usually without inflammation. 

 Tiedemann ('36) noted that in starved adults the stomach appears narrow and 

 constricted, sometimes containing bile. Schultzen ('62, '63) likewise observed 

 a contracted stomach in a girl 19 years old, who died from starvation. Curran 

 ('74), on the contrary, found the stomach distended with gas in an old woman. 

 Jewett ('7 5) found no gastric lesion excepting a disappearance of the mucosa 

 in a man of 74 years who died from chronic starvation. Bright et al. ('77) 

 in the Harriet Staunton case found the stomach small, with very thin walls, 

 through which the undigested contents were clearly visible. Falck ('81) 

 stated that the stomach in starvation is usually found contracted and nearly 

 empty, with the mucosa markedly folded and white, sometimes reddish in 

 places (as found by Schultzen). Voelkel ('86) noted very thin and pale walls 

 in the stomach and intestines of a starved man. 



