Abstract
THE difficulty of securing adequate nourishment in certain conditions in which the taking of food by mouth is impossible or inadvisable, such as coma or following operations on the gastro-intestinal tract, is well known; the attempt is usually made to supply a certain amount of food and drink by means of nutrient enemata, but there are very few substances which are with certainty absorbed through the mucous membrane of the rectum and large intestine. The knowledge that this part of the bowel in man acts mainly as an absorber of water, and contains none of the digestive enzymes which are found in the upper parts of the gastro-intestinal tract, would suggest that only the ultimate products of digestion of the foodstuffs would stand any chance of being absorbed: such, in fact, appears to be the conclusion to be drawn from many researches on this subject. Dextrose, laevulose, amino-acids, saline solutions, and alcohol are absorbed and thus become available for metabolic processes, but the proof of their actual utilisation has not been so easy to obtain. A recent study by T. M. Carpenter brings forward some new evidence on this question (Carnegie Institution of Washington, Publication No. 369, December 1925).
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Rectal Alimentation. Nature 118, 858–859 (1926). https://doi.org/10.1038/118858a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/118858a0