STJMMABY. 357 



albuminoids, there can be no doubt with regard to the impor- 

 tance of its function in. the digestion of these principles after 

 they have been exposed to the action of the gastric juice. 

 The experiments of Bernard and the later observations of 

 Daltpn upon the digestion of these substances after they have 

 passed out of the stomach show that they undergo impor- 

 tant and essential changes as they pass down the intestinal 

 canal. While the bile and the intestinal juice are by no 

 means inert, they seem to be only auxiliary in their action to 

 the pancreatic juice. When meat is taken into the stomach, 

 or is exposed even for a long period to the action of the gas- 

 tric juice, there is always more or less insoluble residue, 

 which can be shown by microscopical examination to consist 

 of the muscular substance. Dalton has shown, in a carefully 

 conducted series of observations, that the characteristic strise 

 gradually disappear and the tissue is dissolved as it passes 

 down the intestine ; * and although he entertains the view 

 that this is due to the action of the gastric juice which is 

 continued in the intestine, the evidence derived from the 

 observations of others seems to show that it depends mainly 

 upon the pancreatic juice. 



The preparation which the albuminoids undergo in the 

 stomach is undoubtedly necessary to the easy digestion, in 

 the small intestine, of that portion which is not dissolved by 

 the gastric juice. This fact has been conclusively demon- 

 strated by experiments on intestinal digestion in the inferior 

 animals, and by the observations of Busch in the case of in- 

 testinal fistula in the human subject. 



Summary. The action of the pancreas upon the various 

 articles of food may be summed up in a few words : 



This fluid is the only one capable of forming an instanta- 

 neous, complete, and permanent emulsion with the liquid 

 fats, thus preparing them for absorption by the lacteals. The 

 fat from the adipose tissue is set free in the stomach and 



1 DALTON, Treatise on Human Physiology, Philadelphia, 1864, p. 157 et seq. 



