PEPTIC ULCER AND GASTRIC SECRETION

The role of the digestive action of gastric juice in the problem of peptic ulcer has long been recognized by clinicians; this is evident from the use of such descriptive terms as "peptic," "erosive," "corrosive" and "digestive." The originator of this concept is not known. but possibly the thought came to Matthew Baillie, to John Abercrombie and to Cruveilhier also, for John Hunter had already (1778) raised the question of why the normal stomach does not digest itself. The theory was developed further during the nineteenth century, particularly during the latter half, and in 1910, Schwarz¹ enunciated his now famous and much disputed doctrine of "no acid—no ulcer." The purpose of the present paper is to discuss the present status of the subject and the therapeutic implications. Time and usage have apparently justified the selection of the term "peptic ulcer" to denote a specific lesion appearing in various definite