Chinese Journal of Physiology

Chinese Journal of Physiology, 1929, Vol, III, No, 1, pp. 41—46,

THE BASAL SECRETION OF THE STOMACH Il. THE INFLUENCE OF NERVES AND THE QUESTION OF SECRETORY “TONE” AND REACTIVITY

H. C. HOU anv R, K. S. LIM

(From the Department of Physiology, Peking Union Medical College, Peping)

Received for publication September 29, 1928

The influence of the vagus on gastric secretion was first demonstrated by Pavlov (15) who improved the technique of the operation for the Heidenhain gastric pouch so as to preserve the vagal fibres.

The Pavlov-pouch is more reactive and secretes more copiously than the Heidenhain-pouch for this one reason, Orbeli (14) proved the corollary, namely that when a Pavlov-pouch is converted into a Heidenhain-pouch by severing the connecting muscular bridge, containing the vagal and enteric nerves to the pouch, the secretory response of the pouch to meals becomes much diminished. Later, Litthauer (11) and Rabinkova (17) showed that after double vagotomy above the stomach, the secretion of the ‘‘ntichterne’’ Pavlovpouch occurs continuously though varying in amount. Savitsch (18) found that by dividing the stomach completely across between fundus and pyloric antrum, the former secreted spontaneously, but if the mucosa alone was divided, leaving the nerves and the muscle layers intact, the fundus remained inactive. Even the imposition of a gastero-enterostomy wil] according to Brestkin (2) give rise to hypersecretion (presumably spontaneous fundus secretion).

Although Pavlov and Schumova-Simanoyskaja (16) had shown that the cephalic phase of gastric secretion involves the vagi alone (a fact recently reconfirmed by Farrell, 4), Volborth and Kudryzvzev (20) have drawn attention to the possibility of exciting a small gastric

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