390 
REVIEW. 
stomach a board; two men then mounted on the hoard; they 
pressed it by jerks, and not a single drop of water escaped 
through the esophagus. 
“ It was evident from this first experiment, that all the obstacle 
to the escape of water bv the esophagus was in the superior 
orifice of the stomach. This was rendered more evident by a 
second experiment. 
Experiment II.—“ The stomach being filled with water, and 
the pylorus tied, I introduced a metallic tube, about an inch 
long, through the esophagus into the superior orifice. No 
sooner was the tube placed in the opening than water flowed 
through the esophagus. 
“ The obstacle of the cardiac orifice having been surmounted, 
none other presented itself in the esophagus. 
“ Hence the esophagus, notwithstanding its strong circular 
muscle, takes no part in the phenomenon, as is even more 
clearly demonstrated by the following experiment:— 
EXPERIMENT III.—“ The stomach being filled with water, 
and the pylorus tied, I cut, piece by piece, from the pharynx to 
the stomach, all, absolutely all, the esophagus; the stomach 
was pressed, and not a drop of water escaped from it. 
“ The esophagus having been removed, I was able to intro¬ 
duce my finger into the cardiac orifice, and I recognised two 
things; firstly, that the more the stomach was compressed, the 
more closely was my finger grasped ; and, secondly, that the 
oblique direction of the superior orifice greatly aided the phe¬ 
nomenon, for as soon as I rendered this orifice straight, water 
flowed. 
“ Bourgelat believed that the principal cause of the not 
vomiting might be in the accumulated folds of the mucous 
membrane of the cardiac orifice. The following experiment 
proves that Bourgelat erred :— 
EXPERIMENT IV.—“ I made a large incision on the side of 
the stomach ; I subsequently removed all the mucous membrane 
of the cardiac orifice, and even that of the esophagus. I sewed 
up the opening made with the knife; I filled the stomach with 
water; I tied the pylorus; I recommenced compression of the 
stomach, and not a drop of water escaped. 
“ The third experiment limits the extent of the obstacle to 
vomit on the part of the esophagus; here is one which limits it 
on the part of the stomach. 
Experiment Y .—“ I made a large incision on the side of 
the stomach, and I cut the two lateral fasciculi of the internal 
muscles, without, however, touching the internal fibres, which 
really are the sphincter. 
“ The stomach was then sewn up and filled with water, the 
