ACUTE GASTRIC CATARRH. 495 



1. Among its exciting causes is the use of very large quantities 

 of food, even of that which is very easily digested. We have already 

 pointed out that in these cases acute gastric catarrh is not induced so 

 much by the overfilling of the stomach as by the action of the products of 

 decomposition, formed when the gastric juice does not suffice for the sub- 

 stances to be digested. Hence, after overloading the stomach, the symp- 

 toms of acute catarrh do not occur immediately, but come on next day. 



In grown-up and sensible people it does not often happen that 

 they have simply eaten too much / this is far more frequently seen in 

 children, especially among such as have their diet very much restricted, 

 and hence are never satisfied, but seize every opportunity to overload 

 the stomach. Children at the breast hardly have any feeling of satiety ; 

 when nourishment is plenty, they usually drink till the stomach is 

 overfilled. If they vomit easily, the overloading is soon removed, and 

 only so much nourishment remains as they can readily digest ; if they 

 do not vomit easily, the stomach remains overfilled, and they are 

 affected with gastric catarrh, although they have taken the most suit- 

 able nourishment. Nurses know very well that children which vomit 

 often and easily (" spei-kinder ") sicken less readily and thrive better 

 than others. 



2. Gastric catarrh may be excited by moderate use of food difficult 

 of digestion. In this case, also, it is not the food itself, but the prod- 

 ucts of its decomposition, when partly undigested, that cause the dif- 

 ficulty. The indigestibility of food often depends on its shape. Per- 

 sons who eat with avidity, or who have no teeth, often introduce 

 perfectly digestible food into their stomachs in a state which offers 

 little surface to the gastric juice, which is consequently slowly absorbed 

 and digestion is retarded. It is well known that the yolk of a hard- 

 boiled egg is far more easily digested than the white ; this is simply 

 because the former is far more readily broken into fine morsels in the 

 mouth than the latter is. The use of fat meat, or greasy sauces mixed 

 with the meat, often causes gastric catarrh, not, as the laity suppose, 

 because fat is indigestible, but because, when mixed with the meat, it 

 hinders its imbibition and so diminishes its digestibility. It would 

 lead us too far if we were to mention all the substances that are indi- 

 gestible, and may cause gastric catarrh, even when used in moderate 

 quantities. 



3. Gastric catarrh is often caused by the use of substances thai 

 have begun to decompose before entering the stomach. It may be 

 thus caused in adults by spoiled meat, or by new beer ; but it most 

 frequently occurs in children from the use of milk that has begun to 

 sour. This is what renders the artificial nourishment of infants so dif- 

 ficult in hot weather, when milk begins to spoil very soon. If children 



