MERYCISM REGARDED IN THE LIGHT OF 
ATAVIC TENDENCY —REPOR1 OF A NEW 
CASH, WITH RESULTS OF AN INVESTIGA- 
TION OF ITS DIGESTIVE CHEMISM. 
By Epwarp: C. Runes. 
Before entering upon the discussion of the possible or 
probable causal factors leading to the establishment of the 
habit of rumination in man, I prefer, as a matter of conve- 
nience, to present first the case that has come under my 
observation, and all that pertains to it. 
Mr. D—, a gentleman of Scotch-English parentage, aged 
thirty-seven, high grade teacher, married but without issue, 
came to me on December 18th, 1893, seeking relief from an 
attack of indigestion. The train of symptoms complained 
of, was the usual: mental unrest and languor, headache, 
quite severe vomiting of a ‘‘bilious’’ nature, eructations 
of odorless gas, a sensation of fullness after eating, 
loss of appetite, but no pain. The patient stated that he had 
been subject to similar attacks for many years; they even 
compelled him to interrupt his collegiate course for one year. 
The attacks had usually yielded readily to dietetic measures, 
and some anti-fermentative medication. Four years ago, the 
diagnosis of gastrectasis was made. I found that this conclu- 
sion had been reached by the general appearance of the case, 
and not by a thorough physical examination. In the course 
of my inquiry, the patient mentioned quite incidentally that 
he had been regurgitating his food after nearly every meal for 
many years. Upon pressing the subject, which the patient 
Seemed to resent as irrelevant to the main issue in question, 
i. e. his present complaint, I learned that the so-called re- 
gurgitation served the specific purpose of remastication. The 
conviction of heing face to face with a simon-pure case of 
merycism, filled me with warrantable pleasure,— I say ‘* war- 
(519) 
