510 LECTURE XXI. 



indispensable to life, but these operations enable us to understand exactly 

 what the duty of the stomach is in the economy of the whole organism. 

 The stomach enables us to partake of our daily food within a relatively 

 short time and at considerable intervals. It is to a certain extent a 

 store-room. The stomach is also to be regarded as serving to protect the 

 intestines. It prevents the injurious action of too hot or too cold foods. 

 If the stomach has been removed, it is necessary to eat the food in small 

 portions and at frequent intervals. The food must then be in a pasty 

 condition before it is swallowed. It is interesting to find that if but a 

 small piece of the walls of the stomach remain in the system after the 

 operation, this enlarges and develops into a new stomach, which performs 

 the functions, to some extent at least, of the original stomach. 



