OF THE ALIMENTARY CANAL 125 



The erepsin had converted the peptone into amino- 

 acids. 



We must not hope therefore when we feed a 

 patient on peptonized foods, that we have completely 

 saved him the necessity of digesting them. We have 

 carried the process only part of the way. It is not 

 feasible, perhaps, to feed him on aminoacids, because 

 the prolonged pancreatic digestion makes the food 

 unpleasantly bitter and might cause diarrhoea ; 

 aminoacids are not normal occupants of the stomach. 



Absorption in the Colon. — We may sum up the 

 ordinary functions of the various parts of the bowel 

 with regard to absorption thus : — 



Drugs, salts, and sugars are absorbed in the 

 stomach. 



Proteins (as aminoacids), carbohydrates (as sugar), 

 and fats (as soap and glycerin) are absorbed in the 

 small intestine. 



Water is absorbed in the large intestine. 



The practical physician or surgeon is concerned 

 with the physiologist's answer to two questions. 

 First, Is the colon a necessary organ, or may it be 

 eliminated wdth safety ? Second, Can the large 

 intestine absorb useful foodstuffs in case of need ? 



With regard to the first point, we are at once con- 

 fronted with the fact that in some bats the colon is 

 exceedingly short. Again, it is well known that 

 patients with an artificial anus in the Ccecum are able 

 to keep up their nutrition. The same is true after 

 the ileum has been cut across and turned into the 

 sigmoid. Careful analyses made by Groves and 



