LACTIC ACID THE NORMAL ACID OF THE STOMACH. 159 
The man is still alive, in good health, and the father of a 
family, which he supports by hard labour. It appears that 
this is the only instance in which the opportunity has been 
afforded of watching the process of digestion in an otherwise 
healthy person. Lately, Dr. F. G. Smith, Professor of the 
Institutes of Medicine, in the Medical Department of 
Pennsylvania College, has performed some experiments on 
him, with a view to ascertain the nature of the gastric juice, 
and its influence on the various alimentary principles, namely, 
saccharine, oleaginous, and albuminous. 
The analyses were made of the fluids obtained from the 
stomach while the process of digestion was going on, by 
Professor R. E. Rogers, of the same college, by whom the 
greatest care was exercised. In every instance the reaction 
was distinctly acid to litmus paper. The fluid obtained by 
irritating the stomach when empty was neutral . The tempe- 
rature of the organ during digestion was 100° to 101° Fahr. 
When empty, 98° to 99° Fahr. 
“The fluid for examination was obtained by placing the 
man upon his right side, and gently introducing a large sized 
gum elastic catheter, or a small glass speculum. He was 
then allowed to turn himself towards the opposite side, when 
the contents of the stomach would readily flow out. In no 
instance was food allowed to remain in the stomach longer 
than two hours. The mucous membrane of the empty stomach 
presented a pale pink colour, as described by Beaumont, 
with the surface lubricated by mucus; when digesting, its 
colour was deepened, and the peristaltic motion could be 
distinctly seen. During all the experiments, St. Martin 
maintained his usual good health, was in excellent spirits, and 
took his food with appetite. 
“ Previously to the opportunity afforded to Dr. Beaumont 
by St. Martin’s accident, specimens of gastric fluid were 
obtained by means of sponges attached to strings, as was 
done by Reaumur and Spallanzani ; by exciting vomiting 
after eating, as recorded by Leipzig; by killing animals, 
while digestion was going on, as was done by Prout and 
others ; or by establishing fistulous orifices in the stomachs 
of lower animals, as performed by Blondlot, Lassaigne, 
Bernard, and Barreswill, and others since them. 
“ All these observers, from the earliest to the latest, agree 
on one point, to wit, the existence of an acid reaction in the 
fluid of digestion ; but as to the nature of that acid, they differ 
widely, some contending that it is organic , others that it is 
mineral ; some that it is acetic, lactic, or butyric acid, others 
that the acidity depends upon the presence of hydrochloric 
