INFECTIONS OF THE DIGESTIVE TRACT 343 



the digestive tract must necessarily be followed by some 

 failure in nutrition. I question whether the latter part 

 of this contention is justified ; for while some digestive 

 action cannot be denied to the large intestine, there are 

 many reasons for thinking that by far the larger part of 

 the nutritive resorption necessary for the maintenance 

 of a good state of nutrition occurs above the ileocsecal 

 valve. Even, however, if it be ordinarily true that a 

 significant amount of material is absorbed from the 

 region beyond the ileocsecal valve, there is no reason 

 why such absorption cannot under special conditions 

 be relinquished without detriment to nutrition. Even 

 the partial artificial peptonization of proteids would 

 do much to secure an adequate absorption of such food 

 materials above the ileocsecal valve and in cases of long- 

 continued intestinal intoxication with a grave prognosis, 

 the resort to permanent peptonization of the food mate- 

 rials would certainly be the substitution of a lesser for a 

 greater evil. Although it must be admitted that our 

 knowledge on this point is not at present decisive, I am 

 strongly disposed to take the view that nutrition could 

 be adequately maintained in the absence of the greater 

 part of the large intestine. 



Another possibility of an unfavorable sort relates to the 

 inconvenience incidental to the rapid passage of semi- 

 solid or fluid intestinal contents. It seems probable that 

 if the conditions of diet were carefully studied, any 

 serious difficulty from this source might be avoided. 

 Moreover, the objection just mentioned would be greatly 

 minimized by connecting the ileum, csecum, or trans- 



