The receptive relaxation of the stomach / by W.B. Cannon and C.W. Lieb.

  • Walter Bradford Cannon
Date:
[1911?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The receptive relaxation of the stomach / by W.B. Cannon and C.W. Lieb. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    glass was situated within the cardiac sphincter, and thereby resisted any pressure which that sphincter might exercise. The outer end of the tube was connected with a float recorder—a cylinder 5.5 cm. internal diameter, with a small opening at the bottom to connect the catheter, and with a cork above supporting a writing lever. The balloon, the catheter, and part of the cylinder were filled with water. The cork, which nearly fitted the cylinder, and which was prevented by three inserted pins from rubbing the glass, rose and fell with the changes in water level, and | affected the lever. The relatively large area of \ water in the cylinder permitted the recording of volume changes in the stomach without much alteration of intragastric pressure. Usually the water level in the cylinder was not more than 3 or 4 centimetres above the cardia. At times when the balloon was introduced the stomach was in a toneless condition, but usu-_ , hee ally a tonic state prevailed which was mani- _ er eer ee ae fested by the supporting of a water pressure of oe several centimetres and the recording of rhyth- F1cure 1.— Gastric rel- : ° axation after deglutition. mic contractions. The phenomena now to be .,. feels weeoede reported were studied only in cases in which changes of gastric vol- tonicity was found. ume; the middle line, When the animal, unanesthetized, was rest- ts of swallowing; the bottom line, time in half- ing quietly on the holder, and a regular record _inutes. of rhythmic gastric contractions was being registered, a bit of raw beef was placed at the animal’s nose. The meat was usually taken with avidity and quickly swallowed. It did not, of course, pass to the stomach, but emerged from the cesoph- agus at the upper fistula opening. A few seconds after the larynx rose in swallowing, intragastric pressure began to fall. As Fig. 1, which is a record of the volume changes of the balloon, shows, the drop in pressure is rapid, and is followed by only a slightly less rapid recovery of the former degree of tonus. A record of the relaxations on a more rapidly revolving drum re- vealed that in some instances the drop in pressure began from two to two and five-tenths seconds, and in others from four and three- tenths to four and six-tenths seconds after the rise of the larynx. The
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