DIGESTION 71 



leucocytes after a fast of 12 hours or longer and that there is an 

 increase after a fasting dog or rabbit is fed. The increase begins 

 an hour or more after feeding, usually reaches a maximum in 

 about three or four hours and then declines. The kind of food 

 seems to exert a considerable influence, a proteid (meat) diet show- 

 ing the greatest effect and a carbohydrate or fat diet little or no 

 effect. Digestion leucocytosis seems to be absent in herbiverous 

 animals, due probably to digestion being slower and going on 

 constantly. Food seems to be present in the digestive tract of 

 the horse and cow from the time of one feeding to the next one. 

 Wiendieck states that horses have a weak digestion leucocytosis 

 with an increase of the polymorphs. Goodall, Gulland and Paton 

 examined one adult and five young dogs before and after feeding. 

 They found an increase in the number of leucocytes, reaching a 

 maximum about four hours after feeding. The increase was due 

 to a lymphocytosis which they found constantly present and a 

 polynuclear leucocytosis present in a majority of cases but variable 

 in degree. There was sometimes a preliminary fall in the leuco- 

 cyte count. Brinckerhoff and Tyzzer found that in rabbits a fast 

 of 12 hours or longer caused a decrease in the leucocytes averag- 

 ing approximately one-third the initial count. Feeding fasting 

 rabbits caused an increase two to six hours after the beginning 

 of feeding. In pregnant rabbits, those affected with "snuffles ' 

 and certain other infectious diseases there was no decrease on 

 fasting. Under ordinary conditions, that is when food is not with- 

 held for twelve or more hours, a digestion leucocytosis is not to 

 be expected in the rabbit. 



The importance of digestion leucocytosis consists in recognizing 

 the possibility of a considerable increase in the leucocytes in the 

 animals in which digestion leucocytosis occurs, dog and cat, and 

 either taking the blood from these animals before feeding or if 

 after a meal making allowance for the changes in the blood caused 

 by feeding after being without food for 12 hours or more. 



In carcinoma of the stomach in man digestion leucocytosis is 

 reported to be absent in about 90% of the cases. In cases of 

 benign stenosis of the stomach, ulceration, chronic gastric catarrh 

 and carcinomata of other viscera, well marked digestion leuco- 

 cytosis seems to be the rule. 



Pregnancy and parturition. During the latter part of the 



