Tribune and telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1855-1856, 1856-05-15
From the Saturday Evening post
A PHYSIOLOGICAL CURIOSITY

OF experiments, published by DIR. Beaumont, q
the United States army, almost twenty year
ago, on the physiology of digestion, in which h,
was aided materially by person named ST
Martin, Canadian royGgeur. This man hat
been wounded, it will be remembered, by the &C
cidental discharge of a gun loaded with buck
shot, one OF which, entering the lung from be
hind, traversed it and emerged at the stomach
leaving an opening which could never be uni
ted again, and through which DR. Beaumon,
was enabled to witness the whole process o.
digestion, and to make the series of experi
meets with which his name is honorably con
nected
This opening made by the bullet was abou
rhree-fourths of an inch in diameter, and tn,
stomach was torn by the lead in such manner
that heeling by natural or artificial process wa:
impossible
DR.. Beaumont tried to effect cure by keeping
st. Martin without food for two days but with
| out the desired effect. The gastric luce secre
ted by the mucous membrane of the stomach
would not allow the reunion of the torn walls o
that organ. The consequence has been natura
"a fstula or opening from the stomach-so thai
II ST. Marti does not keep a compress to the
aperture in drinking water or swallowing any
thing else, the whole contents of the stomach
viii pass out through that opening. Through
tins opening comes ont small part of the stom
aCh, q. G., the inner coat, which shows its differ
ent appearances-thick or SWOLLEN when undc,
!
| gestion is over.
This same st. Martin having been lost sight
of by the scientific world, after nearly quarter
OF century has suddenly turned up again as a
| subject for digestive experiments. lie is now
in this city, on his way to Europe, under the
auspices of DIR. Bunting, of Montreal who pro-
poses TO extend more minutely the series of en-
| perments so successfully commenced by DIR.
Beaumont, and also to enable the sarans of the
| old world TO witness the experiments. Mr.. St
Martin is at present little upwards of fifty
! years of age, of spare frame, but apparently
capable of considerable endurance He is in
excellent bodily health, and has much vivacitv of
manner His early life was spent upon the
frontiers, and since leaving the employ of DR.
beaumont he has married and resided at Mon
treal. The opening in the stomach has had no
injurious effect upon his health, nor has it pre-
vented him from pursuing active and severe la
bors. Indeed it is possible that his daily know
ledge of the effect food upon the stomach may
have prevented him from abusing this impor-
tant organ for the qualification of momentary,
taste. lie is a man of simple tastes in his diet
and drinks, it is said, no ardent spirits.
On Saturday afternoon meeting of several
eminent physicians of the city was held at the
New York Hospital, for the purpose of being in
trodnced to DIR. Bunting and his celebrated pa
tent and OF Witnessing some of his experiments
Among those present were Dr. Van Buren, DIR.
DIR. Nandervoot of the Hospital, DIR. Isaacs and
I DIR. Elliot, of the Medical College, DIR. Derby,
DR.. Buck, DIR. Wood and others.
The first experiment performed was that of
introducing the Thermometer into the stomach
through the opening, from which its tempera-
ture was ascertaned to he 11l Farephait-s DIR.
Bunting next introduced into the stomach the
gum elastic catheter, and extracted nearly an
ounce and half of gastric Juice, which was
presented to DIR. Griscom, and examined by him
and others, to its tastes and other properties.
The third experiment consisted in causing the
patient TO drink two tumblers of water, which
was Immediately afterwards poured out through
the orlflce into a basin held by Dr. Bunting
The experiments being concluded, various
questions were propounded to DIR. Bunting, in
regard to the time consumed in the digestion of
various foods. In reply, he observed that the
carrot would consume between five and six
hours while rare roast beef would thoroughly
digest in an hour and half Melted butter
would not digest at all, but float about in the
stomach Lobster was comparatively easy of
digestion. Upon the application of the gastric
juice to piece of purple tissue paper, the color
health, DR.. Bunting observed that it had been
unitorna!iy excellent, having, since his recov
cry from the first effects of the wound, support
ed large family by his daily labor.
These experiments do not differ materially
from those made by DIR. Beaumont. The latter
ascertainod the differences between natural
and artificial digestion by very simple and
beautiful experiment.
He took from the empty stomach at an early
hour in the morning, TWO ounces of gastric juice,
which he divided into two equal parts and pla
ccd III separate walls, i'll each of which he placed
given quantity of roast beef. The ono was
placed in a sand bath at 90 degrees and the 9th
er in the open air at 80 degrees He likewise
put the same quantity of meat into a like por-
ton of clear water, and ntermixed a similar por-
ton with gastric juice, previously extracted, of
the temperature of the air.
The meat in the fresh gastric juice, placed in
the warm bath, proceeded towards digestion as
if contained i'll the stomach, and was finally
wholly digcstcd by the addition of 4 further
quantity of gastric juice That contained in
the water was simply maccrated, and that in lie
gastric juice having Il low temperature was al
tcctcd but slightly.
The series of experiments instituted by DIR.
Bcaumont,t to ascertain the time required to digest
various articles of food, are familiar to the medi-
cal and scientific men. Boiled rice was found
to require only one hour to digest, and pork five
hours, these two being the extremes.
These experiments also, as a general rule,
confirmed the opinion previously entertained,
that farinaceous vegetables are more easily d.
gested than succulent and wild game, and the
meat OF full grown animals, than those which
are young.
.veloped, was, that fluids, like soups and broths
require to have their nutricious particles CON
verted into sold substance before they can be
acted upon:by the gastric juice; the consequence
is that all such ailments are less adapted for
weak stomachs than more solid food. DC
casionally st. Martins temper, although usual
~ placid, became violently rutfied The effect
upon the digestive process was instantaneous
and decided. Digestion proceeded, but instead
of the formation of healthy chyme, the stomach
contained a thin, grueliike substance, much
tnged with bile. which, under ordinary circun-
stances, is not to be found within it,
The case of St. Martin is altogether pecn-
liar one, the like. singuIarly enough, not being
found on record. 1t is at the same time one of
marked interest, not only account of what
has already been contributed by it to our knOwl
edge of digestion but what we may hereafter
reasonably expect from it.
1t is worthy of remark that St. Martins life
has been a regular one, and that, consequently,
the ex periments made in advanced years are as
valuable as those prosecuted in his youth.
An OLD WoMAN.-There was an old woman
in Chicago ON her way TO Urbana, Illinois, from
Albany, with the most curious lot of baggage
imaginable: She had with her q bed, a box,
three dogs, a cat black hen, basket contain
ing five kittens, and pup with its eyes not
open. The latter did not belong TO any of the
larger dogs, but seemed to have been adopted
nv the car - She had carried all this curious