Gastric Acidity: Relation to Various Factors

In previous papers we reported the results of studies of gastric function carried out by means of a standard alcohol test meal (1). The work had two objectives: first, to investigate the diagnostic value of "gastric analysis" and second, to obtain information about certain questions of physiology of the stomach. The present report deals with the relations of gastric acidity to various factors such as age and physical fitness. Ever since the introduction of test meals as a means of studying the function of the stomach, clinicians have been interested in estimating the acidity of the gastric juice. Certain outstanding facts were soon discovered. It was found, for example, that the degree of acidity varied in different people, and that gastric ulcer was often associated with high acidity, whereas in cancer of the stomach there was absence of "free HCI." The exact diagnostic significance of gastric acidity has, however, never been accurately defined; some observers regard high acidity (hyperacidity) and anacidity as distinct-diseases or disorders, while another view is that great variations may exist without any pathological significance. It seems evident that some of this uncertainty is due to a lack of accurate information about the normal variations of acid secretion, which will be discussed below.