268 ILLINOIS STATE ACADEMY OF SCIENCE 



asked Mr. Thurmon to present a piece of work done under 

 Dr. Norbury's direction, "A Study of Acidity Curves in 

 Stomach Contents." The Paper follows: 



The method of gastric analysis clinically in vogue at pres- 

 ent entails the feeding at a standard test meal, the par- 

 tial removal of stomach contents at fifteen minute inter- 

 vals over a period of 90-120 minutes, and the examination 

 of the samples for: (1) Total acidity, (2) Free acidity, 

 (3) Lactic acid, (4) Occult blood, (5) Bile, (6) Microsco- 

 pical constituents. 



OLD METHOD 



The old method used until the introduction of the Reh- 

 fuss method of fractional analysis consisted of feeding of a 

 standard test meal, the partial removal of complete stom- 

 ach contents at the end of a one-hour period, and the ana- 

 lysis of the material so removed. That this was inaccurate 

 has been proved through laboratory examination and is 

 best explained by graphic representation. 



Owing to the bulk of the stomach tube and the marked 

 discomfort occasioned by its use, it was impossible to fol- 

 low the complete cycle of digestion and to estimate the dif- 

 ferent changes step by step which took place in the stom- 

 ach after the introduction of a definite stimulus such as 

 various foods. At the end of one hour the entire stomach 

 content was removed and examined. Chart 2 will suffice 

 to show the fallacy of this method. Both curves represent 

 the total acidity of two different cases. They show a vast 

 variance by the fractional method; but by the old method, 

 which called for the removal of complete stomach content 

 at the end of one hour, one would readily suppose they were 

 normal curves. 



REHFUSS TUBE METHOD 



Realizing the inadequacy of the procedure entailed in 

 the old method, Dr. Martin E. Rehfuss devised an ap- 

 paratus and procedure by which it is possible to follow the 

 entire cycle of digestion without undue discomfort to the 

 patient. It is the so-called "fractional method." The 

 modified stomach tube (No. 12 French Tubing) is fitted 

 with a metal tip. The tip is slotted with large perfora- 



