ACTION OF THE BILE IN DIGESTION 223 



putrefactive changes in the intestinal contents and the abnormal devel- 

 opment of gas; but observations on this point have been somewhat 

 conflicting. During the first few days of the experiment just described, 

 the dejections were very rare; but they afterward became regular, and 

 at one time there was even a tendency to diarrhoea. There can be little 

 doubt, however, that the bile restrains putrefaction of the contents of 

 the intestinal canal, particularly when animal food has been taken. The 

 feces in the dog with biliary fistula were always extremely offensive. 

 Bidder and Schmidt found this to be the case in dogs fed entirely on 

 meat ; but the feces were nearly odorless when the animals were fed on 

 bread alone. 



It, has been shown that the bile of itself has little action on the 

 different classes of alimentary substances. In the feces of animals 

 with biliary fistula, the only peculiarity observed aside from the 

 putrefactive odor and the absence of the coloring matter of the bile 

 has been the presence of an abnormal proportion of fat. This was 

 noted in the feces of a patient suffering from jaundice apparently due 

 to temporary obstruction of the bile-duct (Flint). 



It is difficult to associate the bile directly with the digestion of 

 proteids or of carbohydrates, although imperfectly digested meats as 

 well as fats are found in the feces when bile has been shut off from 

 the small intestine. It was noted, however, by Bidder and Schmidt, in 

 an animal with a biliary fistula and the bile-duct obliterated, that the 

 proportion of fat was 1.90 parts per 1000 of chyle ; while in an animal 

 with the biliary passages intact, the proportion was 32.79 parts per 

 1000. In animals operated on in this way, there frequently is a distaste 

 for fatty articles of food. In the observation made in 1861 (Flint) the 

 dog refused fat meat even when very hungry and when lean meat was 

 taken with avidity. Later observations have shown that the bile assists 

 the pancreatic secretion in the splitting and emulsification of fats, and 

 it is probable that it also facilitates their absorption, although in what 

 way is not apparent. While it is the digestion and absorption of fats 

 that seem to be most seriously disturbed in cases of biliary fistula, the 

 rapid loss of weight and strength shows great interference with the 

 digestion and absorption of other constituents of food. It is impor- 

 tant to note, also, that the secretion of bile, though constant, is greatly 

 increased when food passes into the intestinal canal. 



Although it has been shown that the presence of bile in the small 

 intestine is necessary to proper digestion and even essential to life, and 

 although the variations in the flow of bile with digestion are now well 

 established, physiologists have but little definite information concerning 

 the exact mode of action of the bile in. intestinal digestion and absorp- 



