EFFECT OF VAGOTOMY ON GASTRIC SECRETION IN MAN AND EXPERIMENTAL ANIMALS

Abstract

THE PRESENCE of gastric secretory fibers in the vagus nerves and the activation of these nerves by conditioned and unconditioned reflexes involving the sight, odor, taste or thought of food were established by the classic researches of Pavlov and his associates. Pavlov considered the secretory fibers in the vagi to be the most important mode of activation of the gastric glands and was doubtful if gastric secretion could occur after these nerves had been divided. The work of numerous English and American physiologists has, however, subsequently demonstrated that an abundant secretion of gastric juice of normal composition can occur after complete vagotomy in experimental animals, and the mechanism of this secretion has been extensively studied. The contact of food substances with the mucosa of the stomach and intestine is thought to cause the elaboration of a chemical substance which is absorbed into the blood stream and stimulates the gastric glands