Abstract
One of the authors reported the occurrence of sex differences in the contraction rate of the human gall-bladder. 1 Since then ten additional cases have been examined which, with the others, seem to establish the fact that the average emptying time of the gall-bladder in young women is considerably quicker than in young men. But as yet no explanation of this has been forthcoming; nor, indeed, of individual differences between members of the same sex.
Believing that gall-bladder action might be correlated with the rate at which a meal moves through the intestinal tract, a number of these individuals were given a barium meal and its course followed for several days.∗ In addition, the contents of the fasting stomach were titrated, following which the patient was given a standard Ewald meal. The changing acidity of the stomach was then determined by the fractional method and the results plotted against the contraction curve of the gall-bladder (Fig. 1).
The primary object in testing the stomach was to eliminate from the series any individuals with gastric ulcer or carcinoma, gastritis pernicious anemia and nervous disorders. But no such conditions were found, so that the stomach of these individuals may be considered normal. Although it was not expected that the amount of free acid present in the fasting stomach could influence the gallbladder, since the meal of egg yolk (by which the action of the gallbladder was tested) would probably neutralize the acid, it is possible that some of the gastric juice might have been plied ahead of the meal by the first increment of egg yolk, which (as viewed under the fluoroscope) passes immediately into the duodenum. If such is the case no correlation was found to exist between the amount of acid in the fasting stomach and the emptying of the gall-bladder.
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