134 GLANDS IN HEALTH AND DISEASE 



Starling. A piece of mucous membrane from the 

 stomach, when extracted with acid, and the acid 

 injected into the blood, caused a flow of gastric 

 juice. Edkins called the hormone responsible for 

 this action the gastric secretin, to distinguish it 

 from the intestinal secretion. 



Secretin and vitamine. We have pointed out in 

 this chapter that secretin withstands the tempera- 

 ture of boiling water, a fact speaking against its 

 identity with any vitamine. However, Dr. Carl 

 Voegtlin, the government chemist in the Hygienic 

 Department at Washington, has recently performed 

 experiments to show that secretin and vitamine B 

 (the anti-neuritic vitamine that is, the one that 

 cures beriberi in man and polyneuritis in pigeons), 1 

 are similar in properties, if not actually one and the 

 same substance. Towards chemical reagents, such 

 as wood alcohol, silver, lead and barium salts, they 

 behave alike. "Secretin preparations from the du- 

 odenum of hogs relieved to some extent the neuritic 

 symptoms, and the anti-neuritic vitamine from 

 brewer's yeast on injection into dogs stimulated the 

 pancreatic and biliary secretions." Whether this 

 be so or not we cannot say definitely; the work 

 needs confirmation. 



1 See the chapter on Beriheri in the author's book on Vitamines. 



