SECRETION OF GASTRIC JUICE 



Since the publication of Beaumont's experiments, many observations 

 have been made on animals in which permanent gastric fistula had 

 been established. In these experiments the dog is most frequently used, 

 as in this animal the operation usually is successful. The animals 

 operated upon by Bassow, who was the first to establish a gastric fistula 

 (1842), were merely objects of curiosity ; but Blondlot (1843) and others 

 fixed a tube in the stomach, collected the juice and made important 

 observations in regard to its action in digestion. 



Although instances of gastric fistula in the human subject had been 

 reported before the case of St. Martin, and have been observed since 

 that time, the remark- 

 ably healthy condition 

 of the subject and the 

 extended experiments 

 of Beaumont have ren- 

 dered this case memo- 

 rable in the history of 

 physiology. This was 

 the only instance on 

 record in which normal 

 gastric juice had been 

 obtained from the hu- 

 man subject ; and it has 

 served as a standard of 

 comparison for subse- 

 quent experiments on 

 the inferior animals Fig ' 4I ' ~~ Ga5trh : fi siula in the case f st - Martin (Beaumont). 



A, A, A, B, borders of the opening into the stomach ; C, left 

 nipple ; D, chest ; E, cicatrices from the wound made for the re- 

 moval of a piece of cartilage ; F t F, F, cicatrices of the original 



wound. 



An artificial gastric 

 juice, prepared by ex- 

 tracting the active prin- 

 ciple from the mucous membrane of the stomach of different animals 

 and adding hydrochloric acid, is useful in observations in regard to the 

 chemistry of the peculiar enzyme, but liquids prepared in this way are 

 not identical with the natural secretion. Extracts of the mucous mem- 

 brane were made by Eberle (1834), Von Wittich, Briicke and many 

 others. 



Secretion of Gastric Juice. It was observed by Beaumont that dur- 

 ing the intervals of digestion the mucous membrane is comparatively 

 pale, "and is constantly covered with a very thin, transparent, viscid 

 mucus, lining the whole interior of the organ." On the introduction of 

 food, the membrane changes its appearance. It then becomes red and 

 turgid with blood ; small pellucid points begin to appear in various 



