470 REHFUSS— THE NORMAL GASTRIC SECRETION. 



reverse, disturbances pointing to insufficient acidity and secretion are 

 found. 



While this is not the place to discuss the question of ulcer and 

 cancer, the former has a constant tendency to induce gastric phe- 

 nomena of the spastic type together with excessive secretion and 

 increased acidity, while the presence of the latter has a definite down- 

 ward tendency on the secretory causing either an inhibition or neu- 

 tralization or late formation of the secretion due to a mucosal lesion. 

 Every variety of change in the specimens can occur from positive 

 disturbance in the quantity and quality of the secretion to the ad- 

 mixture of purely pathological exudates or transudates consisting of 

 blood, pus, bacteria which are more or less characteristic of certain 

 conditions as well as definite fermentative phenomena seen in cer- 

 tain forms of stasis. A recognition of the normal type and its 

 thorough understanding is essential to the interpretation of the 

 pathological responses which occur. 



