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The Relief Study of the Stomach and Colon

This excerpt was created in the absence of an abstract.

The study of the digestive relief has interested numerous observers. Much pioneer work has been done in this country, especially by Dr. Scott, Dr. Briggs and Dr. Vilvandré. Systematic work on the appearances of the gastro-intestinal mucosa was first carried out by Forssell, and the study of the subject has been successfully applied to clinical radiology within the last few years by Berg, Akerlund, Gutzeit, Chaoul, and other workers.

The peculiar difficulties of the subject were enumerated at length by Dr. Cole, in Radiology, early this year: the methods of dealing with these may be roughly classified as follows:—

I. The preparation of the patient and of the contrast medium.

II. Elimination of secondary radiation.

III. Graduated compression.

IV. Reproduction of the required phase of a moving organ.

V. Avoidance of optical distortion.

For the demonstration of the relief the use of a watery solution of barium with the addition of tragacanth is generally recommended. A simple and efficient method, sometimes practised in France, is to give the yolk of an egg beaten up with the barium. The gastric contents can give rise to great difficulties: excessive gastric mucus can sometimes be controlled by the previous injection of atropine: washing out the stomach is usually of little assistance. Excessive resting juice can be syphoned off but quickly re-forms. Sometimes a relief pattern can only be obtained during the first few minutes after giving the barium, before the gastric glands are excited.

Received for publication December 1, 1932.