Foods and dietaries : a manual of clinical dietetics / by R.W. Burnet.

  • Burnet, R. W.
Date:
1890
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Foods and dietaries : a manual of clinical dietetics / by R.W. Burnet. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    20/256 (page 4)
    As regards, in the first place, the condition of the healthy gastric mucous membrane, our knowledge has been gained mainly by direct observation. Those rare instances in which it has been possible to observe, through a fistulous opening in the stomach-wall, the actual appearance of the healthy mucous membrane when it is at rest, and also the changes that occur during the process of digestion, have taught much that is of great practical importance in relation to diet, both in health aud in the different degrees of disorder and disease. The well-known opportunity of this kind, that was fully taken advantage of by Dr. Beaumont some sixty years ago, occurred in the person of a healthy young Canadian, Alexis St. Martin, who was accidentally wounded by the discharge of a gun. The shot, entering the left side and perforating the stomach, carried away part of its anterior wall. The man passed through a severe and protracted illness, but ultimately regained his health. The opening, however, never closed, and by means of it Dr. Beaumont made his valu- able observations, which have since been confirmed and, m some particulars, amplified and corrected by experiments on animals. The healthy stomach when empty is contracted, and its surface is pale; its vessels small and tortuous. When, however, food passes down the oesophagus and is received into the stomach, the pink, velvety appearance of the mucous membrane is seen to give place to a brighter, slightly darker shade; the vessels dilate and become more full of blood, and the secretion of gastric juice commences. Experiments have further shown that the same results follow upon the introduction of food through an external opening, or upon stimulation by means of a smooth body introduced from without, and gently rubbed against the inner surface of the stomach. In the latter case the effect soon passes off. If, however, the stimulus be carried to such an extent as to cause irritation, effects exactly the opposite of those described above are produced, namely,