THE ABSORPTION OF THE FOOD-STUFFS 753 



by small gushes repeated at intervals of five to ten seconds separated by intervals of 

 one to five minutes, during which nothing appeared at the orifice of the cannula. The 

 material obtained was quite different in character from that flowing from the duodenal 

 fistula. The pasty character had disappeared, the material forming a frothy, orange- 

 yellow, even jelly-like mass with practically no trace of undigested bread. 



From a fistula in the ileum the outflow occurred at long intervals of three to fifteen 

 minutes and was much scantier than that obtained from the jejunal fistula, consist- 

 ing of a thick jelly-like, orange-coloured mass. Both proteins and carbohydrates were 

 entirely digested, and in the case of the former the chief products of digestion consisted 

 of amino-acids. Thus in one experiment, after four large meals of 500 grm. of meat 

 each had been given, in order to obtain sufficient quantity for analysis, 175 grm. of 

 soluble substances were obtained. From this were isolated tyrosine, leucine, alanire, 

 aspartic acid, lysine, and traces of arginine and histidine. 



From a fistula in the caecum there was no outflow until four or five hours after the 

 meal had been taken. The material from the gut was then extruded in faecal like 

 masses at long intervals of one half to one hour. This regular outflow lasted for about 

 six hours. The reaction of the contents was strongly alkaline, with no food particles, 

 and the material contained merely debris of cells, with small traces of sugar, dextrine 

 and unaltered starch. The absorption of the food-stuffs is thus practically complete 

 by the time that the food has reached the lower end of the small intestine. 



The following Table gives the total amounts obtained in a series of experiments 

 from the different fistulas after administration of 200 grm. of bread, and also the per- 

 centage amount of food-stuffs which had been absorbed before the food had arrived at 

 the level of the fistula in question : 



Total amounts obtained Absorbed 

 from 200 grm. of bread per cent. 



Pyloric fistula . . . . 691 grm. 



Duodenal fistula ... . 691 ,, 17-45 



Jejunal fistula . . . . 585 37-77 



Ileum fistula . . . . 412 ,, 67-65 



Csecal fistula 80 94-34 



