CHAPTER VIII 

 GASTRIC ANALYSIS 



The method of gastric analysis which has been in vogue clinically 

 for years (see page 176) entails the feeding of a standard test meal, 

 the removal of the complete stomach contents at the end of a one- 

 hour period , and the analysis of the material so removed. That this 

 method is inaccurate has been repeatedly demonstrated in the author's 

 laboratory 1 and elsewhere. 2 Furthermore, owing to the bulk of the 

 old form of stomach tube and the discomfort occasioned by its use, it 

 is impossible to follow the whole cycle of digestion and estimate, step 



Tot. 

 Ac. 



N/10 

 NaOH 



60 

 30 



Time 



Ihr. 



2hr. 



FIG. 45. NORMAL AND PATHOLOGICAL CURVES AFTER AN EWALD MEAL. 



i, normal curve; 2, delayed digestion with late hyperacidity; 3, larval hyperacidity; 



4, tardive hyperacidity; 5, marked continued secretion from obstruction. 



by step, the exact changes which take place in the stomach after the 

 introduction of definite food mixtures into that organ. 



Realizing the inadequacy of the procedure entailed in the old 

 method of gastric analysis, a new procedure has been developed by Dr. 

 Martin E. Rehfuss in the author's laboratory. This so-called "Frac- 

 tional Method" entails the analysis of samples of material withdrawn 

 from the stomach (by syringe) at short intervals for a period of two 

 hours or more (until stomach is empty) after the ingestion of the test 

 meal. By this means the observer is able to follow the entire cycle of 



1 Rehfuss: Jour. Am. Med. Ass'n, 64, 569, 1914. 



Rehfuss, Bergeim and Hawk: Jour. Am. Med. Ass'n, 63, 909, 1914. 



Bergeim, Rehfuss and Hawk: Jour. Am. Med. Ass'n, 63, n, 1914. 

 * Harmer and Dodd: Arch. Int. Med., Nov. 13, 1913, p. 488. 



150 



