Abstract
Conclusions
1. Alcohol intravenously in man produces an increase in gastric acidity. 2. 1/8 cc. of 95% alcohol per kg. body weight intravenously as a 25% solution in normal saline is as effective a stimulant of gastric secretion as is the standard 50 cc. of 7% alcohol by mouth. 3. The response to alcohol intravenously up to 1 cc. per kg. is not as great as that to histamine. 4. The alcohol content of the gastric juice closely follows that of the blood. 5. The blood alcohol during the oral alcohol test meal is much less than after the least effective dose by vein. 6. The gastric juice alcohol after the intravenous injection is minute compared to the 7% administered by mouth. 7. From 5 and 6 above, it would seem possible that the seat of action of alcohol as a stimulus to gastric secretion lies neither in the general circulation, nor at the surface of the gastric mucosa, but somewhere between the two. Further investigation of this point is in progress.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.