Reaction of Gall-Bladder to Faradic Stimulation of Stomach.

Abstract

In a previous publication attention was called to a case of spontaneous emptying of the human gall bladder during fasting, in which the patient reported the occurrence of hunger pangs during the interval in which cholecystograms were recording a marked reduction in size of the gall bladder. 1 This was interpreted as being in harmony with Boldireff's observations that during fasting, bladder bile is discharged into the duodenum synchronously with gastric hunger contractions.

Very recently, we have observed rhythmic tonus changes of the gall bladder, in fasting cats, that are concurrent with rhythmic peristaltic contractions of the stomach. These observations, made on unanesthetized animals 7 to 10 hours after operation, were recorded by series of x-rays taken at intervals of 30 seconds—the gall bladder being visualized by roentgen-opaque oil, and the stomach by its content of air. The intervals between phases, as well as the duration of the contraction waves (1 to 3 minutes), seem to correspond to the periods of gastric hunger contractions described in the literature.

That these tonus waves of the gall bladder are induced by successive contractions of the stomach would seem to be verified by the following experiments. If insulated electrodes be sewed to the greater curvature of the pars pylorica, and the cat be allowed to recover from the operation, weak faradic stimulation of the stomach (½ milliampere) causes ring contraction of that organ and simultaneous contraction of the gall bladder. If a stronger current be used (6½ milliamperes) the lipioidol in the gall bladder may be shot up into the cystic duct, the contractile cycle of the gall bladder lasting from 1 to 3 minutes, depending on the strength of the contraction. This seems to indicate that the mammalian gall bladder is directly under control of reflexes originating in the gastro-intestinal tract.