EFFECTS ON THE ALIMENTARY CANAL 305 



gastrointestinal atrophy as the cause of pedatrophy. Vigor ('n) demonstrated 

 that the distension of the abdomen ("ectasie abdominale" of Variot) which 

 occurs in malnourished infants is due to distension of the stomach and colon by 

 gas (air). 



Mattei ('14) found microscopic gastric lesions in about one-third of his cases 

 of athreptic infants. The gastric glands appear " decapitated/' with vacuolated 

 nuclei and cloudy swelling of the cytoplasm. The stroma is infiltrated with 

 leukocytes, which also distend the lymph-vessels, and occur in the submucous 

 and muscle coats. The submucous lymphoid follicles are hypertrophied. The 

 literature on this subject is reviewed fully by Nobecourt ('16). 



In necropsies of famine-stricken children, Nicolaeff ('23) found evidence of 

 gastritis, with punctiform extravasations of the gastric mucosa. 



The data recorded in Table 3, for atrophic Minnesota infants, would indicate 

 that in spite of decreased body weight the weight of the stomach is in all cases 

 above normal. The exact amount of the increase is difficult to estimate, on 

 account of the lack of an accurate norm for the postnatal growth in weight of 

 the stomach. 



Among the animals, the data upon the gastric effects will be reviewed in 

 chronological order, excepting the early changes noted chiefly in studies of 

 digestion and resorption, the phenomena in the migrating salmon, and the 

 effects of hibernation, which will be considered separately. 



Collard de Martigny (1828) and de Pommer (1828) observed that in dogs, 

 cats and rabbits, starved without food or water, the gastrointestinal mucosa in 

 general appeared pale, without signs of inflammation. The gastric and intestinal 

 secretions are decreased. 



Chossat ('43), in pigeons on total inanition with loss of 40 per cent in body 

 weight, found an average loss of 33.4 per cent in the weight of the stomach as a 

 whole. The thick gastric muscle (of the gizzard) alone lost 39.7 per cent (com- 

 parable to the loss of 42.3 per cent in the skeletal musculature); but the thick- 

 ened, cornified epithelial lining actually increased in weight from 1. 09-1. 23 

 g., due to absorption of water, rendering the epithelium soft and pulpy. Schu- 

 chardt (47) similarly obtained a loss of 34 per cent in the gastric muscle of 

 starved pigeons. 



In a cat starved 18 days with loss of 50 per cent in body weight, Bidder and 

 Schmidt ('52) found an apparent loss (compared with a control) of 30.9 per cent 

 in the weight of the esophagus, stomach and intestines. 



In various animals, chiefly rabbits, starved with or without water, Manas- 

 sein ('68, '69) found usually no gross changes in the stomach; although sometimes 

 the mucosa appeared easily detachable, and petechial hemorrhages of varied 

 size were occasionally observed. The average loss of gastric weight in 47 adult 

 rabbits (body loss 39 per cent) was 34 per cent; in 8 rabbits 3%$ months old 

 (body loss 33 per cent), the gastric loss was 16 per cent; in 3 rabbits 23-25 days 

 old (body loss 35 per cent), the gastric loss was 25 per cent. In 5 rabbits refed 

 after a fasting period, the stomach still appeared 11 per cent subnormal in weight. 

 In 2 crows, starved with loss of 36 per cent in body weight, the loss in gastric 

 weight was 30 per cent. 



