PROTEIN DIGESTION IN THE STOMACH 17 



changed, within but little more than an hour, raw meat is 

 retained for considerably longer time. 43 



The resorption of the products of protein cleavage in the 

 stomach is always of very minor importance. Meat and 

 albumin leave the stomach of the dog, according to London, 

 without having undergone any notable nitrogenous resorp- 

 tion. Moreover, the products of protein catabolism, which 

 are readily absorbed in the intestine, can be quantitatively 

 recovered if in the stomach even for a number of hours. (It 

 is true, however, that Salaskin, in agreement with the older 

 views, insists upon the actual absorption of protein sub- 

 stances in the stomach.) 44 



In this connection the reduced ability of proteins which 

 have been acted upon by pepsin and hydrochloric acid to 

 withstand the subsequent action of trypsin, as pointed out 

 by Carl Oppenheimer and Aron 45 and by Emil Fischer and 

 Abderhalden 46 has important physiological bearing. 



As the gastric function in protein digestion therefore is 

 in a general way a preparatory one it cannot be regarded as 

 a very wonderful thing that it has been found possible to 

 perform complete gastrectomy in animals and in man, since 

 the well-known experiments of Karl Ludwig and Ogata and 

 the actual total extirpation of the human stomach by 

 Czerny. 47 



As to the extent of resorption, opinions vary widely. 

 While London, as above stated, regards it as of little conse- 

 quence, Scheunert 48 accepts for the stomach a fixed power of 

 absorption as proved (basing his opinion upon the observa- 



48 E. S. London, with W. Polowzowa, A. Th. Sulima, C. Schwarz, Zeitschr. 

 f. physiol. Chemie., 46, 209, 1905; 49, 328, 1906; 68, 378, 1910. 



44 S. Salaskin, Zeitschr. f. physiol. Chem., 51, 167, 1907. 



45 C. Oppenheimer and H. Aron, Hofmeister's Beitr., 4, 279, 1903. 



48 E. Fischer and E. Abderhalden, Zeitschr. f. physiol. Chem., 40, 215, 1903. 



47 M. Ogata, G. Carvallo and V. Pachon, Langenbuch, C. S'chlatter; also 

 A. Carrel, G. M. Meyer and P. A. Levene, Amer. Jour, of Physiol., 26, 369, 1910; 

 E. S. London and W. F. Dagaew, Zeitschr. f. physiol. Chem., 74, 330, 1911. 



48 A. Scheunert, Zeitschr. f . physiol. Chem., 51, 519, 1907. 

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