AEjk^yPSm'}     Analysis  of  the  Gastric  Contents.  25 
collected  on  balanced  filters,  washed  with  water  made  slightly  acid 
with  acetic  acid  until  all  the  sulphuric  acid  was  washed  out,  and 
then  dried  in  an  air  bath  at  105 0  C,  a  higher  heat  being  avoided  on 
account  of  the  liability  of  decomposing  the  glycyrrhizin  above  that 
point. 
Two  estimations  were  made  on  most  of  the  samples,  the  figures 
given  in  the  statement  being  the  average  of  the  two. 
Manufac- 
turer. 
Brand. 
Moisture. 
Ash. 
Insoluble 
Matter. 
Glycyr- 
rhizin. 
1 
Spanish  .  .  . 
6'52 
37o 
3602 
6-40 
2 
Greek  .... 
626 
8'iS 
22-o6 
I4-39 
2 
Spanish  .  .  . 
5 '00 
55i 
25-54 
10-75 
3 
American  .  .  . 
5*62 
679 
12-27 
7-63 
3 
Spanish  .  .  . 
7  08 
6-96 
6-52 
29"20 
5-28 
4 
Spanish .... 
6-56 
20'35 
10-41 
4 
Greek  .... 
671 
7-82 
9'65 
18-59 
5 
7-96 
577 
I5-2I 
8-90 
5 
8-25 
5'54 
7-40 
27-78 
5 
8-46 
4-67 
6  76 
I9-4I 
9-50 
5 
919 
II'I2 
8-94 
6 
5'78 
7*49 
5  95 
11  63 
V  THE  CHEMICAL  ANALYSIS  OF  THE  GASTRIC  CON- 
TENTS.1 
I.  Method  of  Analysis  for  Use  in  Clinical  Work. 
II.  Record  of  the  Analyses  of  the  Gastric  Contents  of  Fifty  Healthy  Indi- 
Tiduals. 
By  Hexry  F.  Hewes,  M.D., 
Assistant  in  Chemistry,  Harvard  Medical  School,  Boston. 
I.  METHOD  OF  ANALYSIS  FOR  USE  IN  CLINICAL  WORK. 
To  the  physician  who  would  utilize  the  investigation  of  the  pro- 
ducts of  gastric  digestion,  as  an  aid  to  the  diagnosis  and  treatment 
of  his  cases,  there  are  two  requisites.  These  requisites  are:  (1)  a  re- 
liable method  of  investigation  ;  (2)  a  series  of  results  for  compari- 
son, obtained  by  the  application  of  this  method  to  the  product  of  the 
normal  gastric  digestion. 
The  development  of  a  systematic  method  of  investigation  is  de- 
pendent upon  the  collected  knowledge  of  the  subject  of  gastric 
1From  Boston  Medical  and  Surgical  Journal,  November  25,  1S97. 
