A manual of personal hygiene / edited by Walter L. Pyle.

  • Pyle, Walter L. (Walter Lytle), 1871-1921.
Date:
1900
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A manual of personal hygiene / edited by Walter L. Pyle. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University.

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    fasting the stomach is of a pale-pink color, and con- tains a small amount of fluid neutral in reaction. With the introduction of food the mucous membrane becomes of a deeper red color and the secretion be- comes very abundant. As this secretion is acid in reaction, it might be supposed that the digestion of starch, beo-un in the mouth, would immediately cease in the stomach. Such, however, is not the case, owing to the fact that the earlier secretion of hydro- chloric acid promptly combines with the albumin in the foods, so that free hydrochloric acid is for a time not present. A slight amount of lactic acid is found at this time; but it mostly comes preformed in the food, and is not the result of secretion, although to some extent it may come from fermentation even in the healthy stomach. After a certain period of time, varying in individuals from a few minutes to a few hours, the secretion of hydrochloric acid is in excess of that which may combine with the albumin; and it therefore appears as a free acid, at which time the trace of lactic acid disappears. As a result of the in- creased acidity, the digestion of starches, for the time being, comes to an end. On the other hand, the so- lution of the albumins, their conversion into peptones, and the breaking up of the covering of the fat-cells proceed rapidly. The cellulose of vegetables and fruits is broken up, and the absorption of certain con- stituents of the stomach-contents begins. All of these matters are greatly favored by the muscular action of the stomach, which by slow wave-like contractions (the cardia and the pylorus being closed) thoroughly mingle the gastric contents and assist in their solution and absorption. From time to time