174 Mr. Home on the Structure of the Stomachs 
men ruminate, the accounts of authors are sufficiently explicit 
to put beyond all doubt ; particularly the instances collected 
by Peyer from Fabricius ab aquapendente and others, as well 
as from his cotemporaries, in all six or seven instances. Of 
these, two were examined after death. In one of them the 
oesophagus was unusually muscular, but nothing particular 
was met with in the stomach : in the other, nothing is said of 
the oesophagus, but the internal surface of the stomach was 
very rough. 
The fact, however, does not rest on these authorities, since 
a case of this kind has come within my own observation. 
The instance to which I allude, is a man 19 years of age, 
blind, and an ideot from his birth, who is now alive. He is 
very ravenous, and they are obliged to restrict him in the 
quantity of his food, since, if he eats too much, it disorders his 
bowels. Fluid food does not remain on his stomach, but comes 
up again. He swallows his dinner, which consists of a pound 
and a half of meat and vegetables, in two minutes, and in about 
a quarter of an hour he begins to chew the cud. I was once 
present on this occasion. The morsel is brought up from the 
stomach with apparently a very slight effort, and the muscles 
of the throat are seen in action when it comes into the mouth ; 
he chews it three or four times, and swallows it ; there is then 
a pause, and another morsel is brought up. This process is 
continued for half an hour, and he appears to be more quiet at 
that time, than at any other. Whether the regurgitation of 
the food is voluntary or involuntary, cannot be ascertained, 
the man being too deficient in understanding to give any in- 
formation on the subject. 
This contraction of the stomach also explains the circum- 
