Effect of Vagotomy on Gastric Secretory Response to Histamine.

Abstract

The secretory response to a standard dose of histamine was detd. quantitatively in 3 dogs with pouches of the entire stomach with intact vagus innervation. Transthoracic vagotomy was then performed, and the test repeated. The vol. of gastric juice secreted in a 75 min. period was reduced by 50%, 67%, and 44%, respectively, and the output of HCl reduced by 62%, 77%, and 60%, respectively. Atropine profoundly inhibited this secretion both before and after vagotomy. Similar studies were carred out on human patients treated for peptic ulcer by vagotomy. In 15 patients who had transthoracic vagotomy, the 60 min. vol. of gastric-juice secreted to a standard dose of histamine was reduced by an avg. of 41%. The HCl output was reduced by an avg. of 62%. In 18 patients who had transabdominal vagotomy, the 60 min. vol. was reduced by an avg. of 56% and the HCl output reduced by an avg. of 74%. The authors conclude that vagotomy markedly reduces the gastric secretory response to a standard dose of histamine, both in the dog with a totally isolated stomach pouch and in the human peptic ulcer patient.