Dilatation of the Stomach

measures best adapted for its relief. The condition may be produced either by an obstruction at the pylorus to the expulsion of the gastric contents, or by morbid changes in the muscular walls of the stomach without pyloric obstruction. Stenosis of the pylorus is most commonly due to cancer, but may also be produced by simple fibrous stricture, or by the cicatricial contraction resulting from the presence of an ulcer in this situation. I do not propose to deal with this group of cases, in which the conditions present do not, unfortunately, admit of cure. As to the etiology of other varieties of dilatation, two chief theories have been advanced : (i) that the stomach is the primary cause of the disease, other symptoms being secondary ; and (2) that there is a general neurasthenic tendency, in which the stomach suffers in common with