SECRETION OF THE GASTRIC JUICE. 225 



The following was the method employed by Dr. Beaumont 

 in extracting the juice : The subject was placed on the right 

 side in the recumbent posture, the valve was depressed with- 

 in the aperture, and a gum-elastic tube, of the size of a large 

 quill, was passed into the stomach to the extent of five or six 

 inches. On turning him upon the left side until the opening 

 became dependent, the stimulation of the tube caused the se- 

 cretion to flow, sometimes in drops and sometimes in a small 

 stream. The quantity of fluid ordinarily obtained was from 

 four drachms to an ounce and a half. The usual time for 

 collecting the juice was early in the morning, before he had 

 eaten. It was remarked that under these circumstances 

 there was never an accumulation of gastric juice in the 

 stomach, and its flow was only excited by the stimulus of the 

 tube. It was also repeatedly observed that the introduc- 

 tion of alimentary principles, while the tube was in the 

 stomach, produced an almost instantaneous increase in the 

 flow. 



Thanks to these opportunities for observing the action of 

 the human stomach, followed by the experiments of Blond- 

 lot and others on the inferior animals, now so common, 

 physiologists have become pretty well acquainted with the 

 phenomena which attend the secretion of the gastric juice. 



Secretion of the Gastric Juice. 



As the earlier observers were unacquainted with the laws 

 which regulate the production of secreted fluids as distin- 

 guished from those which contain only excrementitious 

 principles, their ideas concerning the secretion of the gastric 

 juice were necessarily indefinite. One of the most impor- 

 tant facts developed by Beaumont was that the normal sol- 

 vent fluid of the stomach is only produced in obedience to 

 the stimulus of food, during the natural process of digestion. 

 Recent advances in physiological chemistry have enabled ex- 

 perimenters to correct many errors in the observations of 

 Beaumont concerning the properties and action of the gastric 

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