Harmer and Dodd1have shown, by means of the Roentgen rays, that the complete removal of the gastric residuum with the aid of the usual stomach tube is by no means certain. This finding has been further confirmed by Rehfuss, Bergeim and Hawk,2who have succeeded in removing, from the normal fasting stomach, quantities of residuum greatly in excess of that obtainable by the old method. Loeper,3Zweig,4Kemp,5Wolff,6Strauss,7Riegel,7and Soupalt7assert that the quantity of residuum in the normal fasting stomach should not exceed 20 c.c., and that there should be no microscopic food residues. Rosin and Schreiber8declare that the quantity of residuum is not of much importance, as a pathologic factor. In thirteen samples of normal residues obtained by Rehfuss, Bergeim and Hawk,2none were found to be so small in volume as