ANATOMIC FOUNDATION OF ANACIDITY

Abstract

INTRODUCTION Anacidity has been considered one of the most important disturbances of the gastric function and often has been treated in textbooks as a separate disease.¹ It has become customary to consider anacidity as either "functional" or "organic." I. FUNCTIONAL ANACIDITY Several theories have been advanced to explain the failure of anatomically normal cells to secrete acid: —It was believed that in patients with anacidity the cells themselves were able to produce acid but that they did not do so because a psychogenic barrier was established between the central nervous system and the end organs. Such a condition would be similar to certain other psychogenic disturbances. In hysterical paralysis, for instance, the paralyzed muscle has the potential faculty to contract but cannot contract because of psychogenic inhibition. Certain authors have presented evidence to prove the psychogenic origin of anacidity. Pavlov,² Bickel³ and others have demonstrated in experi