32 PATHFINDERS OF PHYSIOLOGY 



"Myself and wife, not unlike John Anderson my Jo, have climbed the hill o' 

 life togither, and mony a canty day we've had wi' ane anither. But now we 

 maun totter down life's ebbing wane in peaceful quiet ease and compitence, with 

 just so much selfishness and social sympathy as to be satisfied with ourselves, our 

 children and friends, caring little for the formalities, follies and fashions of the 

 present age. * * * Come when it may, we only ask God's blessing on our 

 frosted brows and hand in hand we will go to sleep together." 



DR. BEAUMONT'S BOOK. 



I am fortunate in having before me an original copy of Dr. Beau- 

 mont's work. The title page bears the following description: "Ex- 

 periments and Observations on the Gastric Juice and the Physiology 

 of Digestion, by William Beaumont, M. D., Surgeon in the United 

 States Army. Plattsburg. Printed by F. P. Allen, 1833." The vol- 

 ume is dedicated to Joseph Lovell, M. D., Surgeon General of the 

 United States Army. The work comprises 2B0 pages, 122 of which 

 deal with "Preliminary Remarks on the Physiology of Digestion." 

 The remainder deals with Experiments and Observations on the Stom- 

 ach of Alexis St. Martin. The first part is divided into seven sections, 

 as follows: 1st, Of Ailment; Section two of Hunger and Thirst; 

 Section three of Satisfaction and Satiety; Section four of 

 Mastication, Insalivation and Deglutition; Section five of Digestion 

 by Gastric Juice; Section six of the Appearance of the Villous Coat 

 and of Motions of the Stomach; Section seven of Chylification and 

 Uses of the Bile and Pancreatic Juice. There are three illustrations, 

 consisting of crude wood cuts of the gastric fistulse. The typograph- 

 ical appearance of the work should be onsidered creditable consider- 

 ing the printing art at the time. The conclusion of the second part of 

 the work contains 51 inferences made from the foregoing experiments 

 and observations. Of these I shall quote a few : 



That digestion is facilitated by minuteness of division and tenderness of fibre 

 and retarded by the opposite qualities. 



That the quantity of food generally taken is more than the wants of the 

 system require, and that excess, if persevered in, generally produces not only 

 functional aberration but disease of the coats of the stomach. 



That bulk as well as nutriment is necessary to the articles of diet. 



That oily food is difficult of digestion, though it contains a large proportion 

 of the nutrient principles 



That stimulating condiments are Injurious to the healthy stomach. 



That the use of ardent spirits always produces disease of the stomach if 

 persevered in. 



That the agent of chymification is the gastric juice, which acts as a solvent 

 of food and alters its properties. 



That the action of gastric juice is facilitated by the warmth and motions of 

 the stomach. 



That it coagulates albumin and afterwards dissolves the coagulum. 

 ciples. 



That the gastric juice is secreted from vessels distinct from the mucous 

 follicles. 



That bile is not ordinarily found in the stomach and is not commonly neces- 

 sary for the digestion of food, but assists in the digestion of oily foods. 



