PANCREATIC JUICE. 245 



quantity into the intestine (Bernard). The secretion is readily modified by 

 irritation and inflammation following the operation of making the fistula. 

 The normal pancreatic juice is strongly alkaline, viscid and coagulable by 



FIG. 76. Pancreatic fistula (Bernard). 



Full-grown shepherd-dog (female), in which a pancreatic fistula has been established. A, silver tube to 

 which a bladder has been attached ; B, bladder ; c, stop-cock for the purpose of collecting the juice 

 which accumulates in the bladder. 



heat. It is almost always the case that a few hours after the canula is fixed 

 in the duct, the juice loses some of these characters and flows in abnormal 

 quantity. With respect to susceptibility to irritation, the pancreas is pecul- 

 iar ; and its secretion is sometimes abnormal from the first moments of the 

 experiment, especially if the operative procedure have been prolonged and 

 difficult. That the properties above described are characteristic of the nor- 

 mal pancreatic secretion, there can be no doubt ; as in all instances, fluid 

 taken from the pancreatic duct of an animal suddenly killed while in full 

 digestion is strongly alkaline, viscid and coagulable by heat. This excessive 

 sensitiveness of the pancreas rendered fruitless all the attempts to establish a 

 permanent pancreatic fistula from which the normal juice could be collected 

 (Bernard). The fluid collected from a permanent fistula does not represent 

 the normal secretion. 



General Properties and Composition of the Pancreatic Juice. In all the 

 inferior animals from which the pancreatic secretion has been obtained in a 

 normal condition, the fluid has been found to present certain uniform char- 

 acters. It is viscid, slightly opaline and has a distinctly alkaline reaction. 

 Bernard found the specific gravity of the fluid from the dog to be 1040. The 

 normal fluid from a temporary fistula in a dog has been observed with a spe- 



