I. Studies on Contrast Media for the X-ray Examination of the Gastrointestinal Tract

Abstract

This report on the results and consequences of our research work concerning contrast media for röntgenologic examinations of the gastroenteric tract opens to-day's series of lectures on the present state of the research on the small bowel. I take this opportunity to emphasise the technical foundations for the diagnosis of diseases of the small bowel, for I feel it is of particular importance in this field of specialisation. While the examination and interpretation of the pathologic pictures of this portion of the bowel are relatively familiar to us, our knowledge of the normal picture of the small bowel is still surprisingly incomplete. Up to now the röntgenologic text books have neglected the rôle of the contrast medium in the diagnosis of the small bowel. The difficulties of supply created by the war, which forced us to utilise indifferently several brands of contrast media said to be of identical value, have led us to study more closely the questions involving these substances. It was not long before we realised how unsatisfactory the different röntgenologic properties of these contrast media were in the diagnosis of diseases of the small bowel. This fact of great practical significance is due in part to the unexpectedly marked differences in the physical properties of the available barium products. Our first aim was, therefore, to find certain standard methods to analyse the physical properties of barium suspensions.