The Effect of Atropine on Gastric Secretion in the Dog

Abstract

Experiments were performed on dogs with a Pavlov or a Heidenhain pouch. The action of atropine in inhibiting the secretion of acid and pepsin was studied when secretion was stimulated with high and low doses of either histamine or gastrin given by steady intravenous infusion. It is shown that the effects on responses to gastrin are much greater than those on responses to histamine; that this is not a phenomenon peculiar to pouches of the stomach; and that the synthetic pentapeptide I.C.I. 50, 123 is affected similarly to porcine gastrin. It is suggested that these results should be interpreted as showing that gastrin stimulates gastric secretion indirectly by exciting neurones in the intramural plexus.

Key-words:

• Stomach
• gastric juice
• hydrochloric acid determination
• gastrin
• histamine
• atropine