Abstract
Last year in a paper presented before this Society on, “Anti-peristalsis in its relation to tubercle bacilli and other bacteria in the alimentary tract,” I noted that bacteria which are injected into the blood current of rabbits could be recovered by culture from the contents of the small intestine. Since then I have followed this problem further, investigating the path by which the bacteria enter the alimentary tract, and, although the work is not completed, I have arrived at certain definite conclusions.
It has been shown by previous workers that some soluble poisons, notably morphine and snake venom, are excreted from the blood through the stomach. It has likewise been demonstrated that various salts, mainly soluble salts, such as strontium or lithium chloride, may be found in the intestine following intravenous injection. It is most probable that the authors of these experiments are correct in deducing that these salts have traversed the wall of the intestine; however, it should be noted, that in none of these experiments was the common bile duct or pancreatic duct ligated, and entrance to the gut by this route excluded.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.