102 A STUDY OF THE INFLUENCE 



beer, wine, and brandy retard gastric digestion noticeably. 

 Schelhaas observed * that in the living stomach wine did not 

 retard digestion so long as there was free HC1 present ; patho- 

 logical conditions (carcinoma ventriculi) formed the only ex- 

 ceptions. In an extensive series of experiments, Gluzinski f 

 distinguishes two phases occurring during digestion in the 

 stomach in the presence of alcohol, (1) a retardation of pro- 

 teid digestion, and (2) secretion of a very active, strongly acid 

 gastric juice. Henczinski $ found no bad effect on digestion 

 following the use of beer. Blumenau states that 25-50 per 

 cent alcohol introduced into the healthy stomach induces a de- 

 crease in digestive action during the first two or three hours. 

 Wolffhardt,|| experimenting on a healthy man, concluded that 

 15-20 grams of absolute alcohol interfere with proteid diges- 

 tion, while the effect of cognac varies with the period of diges- 

 tion during which it is taken ; he found that wines tend to 

 promote digestion. 



With reference to the motor functions of the stomach Lauder 

 Brunton states that alcohol taken into this organ increases its 

 movements as well as its secretory activity, and by mixing its 

 contents more thoroughly with the gastric juice accelerates 

 digestion.^]" Likewise Klemperer ** states as a result of his 

 experiments that the motor functions are decidedly increased, 

 as measured by the oil method, while Haan ff has more recently 

 advanced similar conclusions as the result of work by another 



* Schelhaas : Deutsches Arch, f . klin. Med., xxxvi, p. 427 ; Jahresbericht 

 f. Thierchemie, 1885, xv, p. 271. 



t Gluzinski : Deutsches Arch, f . klin. Med., 1886, xxxix, p. 406 ; Jahresbericht 

 f. Thierchemie, 1886, xvi, p. 263. 



} Henczinski : Dissertation, 1886. Quoted by Munk : Die Ernahrung, 

 p. 327. 



Bluraenau : Therapeutische Monatshef te, 1890, T, p. 504 ; Jahresbericht 

 f. Thierchemie, 1891, xxi, p. 212. 



|| Wolffhardt: Munchn. med. Wochenschr., 1890, xxrrii, p. 608 ; CentralbL 

 f. med. Wissen., 1891, p. 47. 



T Brunton : Disorders of Digestion, 1886, p. 146. 



** Klemperer : Zeitschr. f . klin. Med., 1890, xvii, Supp., p. 324 ; CentralbL 1 

 med. Wissen., 1891, p. 761. 



tt Haan : Comptes rend us de la socie'te' de biologic, 1895, ii, p. 816. 



