thirds full of water as much scale pepsin (obtained from a drug store) as
will stay on the end of the large blade of a penknife. Then add enough
hydrochloric acid to give a slightly sour taste. Place in the artificial
gastric juice thus prepared some boiled white of egg which has been finely
divided by pressing it through a piece of wire gauze. Also drop in a
single large lump. Keep in a warm place (about the temperature of the
body) for several hours or a day, examining from time to time. What is the
general effect of the artificial gastric juice upon the egg?

*To illustrate Effect of Alcohol upon Gastric Digestion.*—Prepare a
tumbler half full of artificial gastric juice as in the above experiment,
and add 10 cubic centimeters of this to each of six clean test tubes
bearing labels. To five of the tubes add alcohol from a burette as
follows: (1) .5 c.c., (2) 1 c.c., (3) 1.5 c.c., (4) 2 c.c., and (5) 3
c.c., leaving one tube without alcohol. Now add to each tube about 1/4
gram of finely divided white of egg from the experiment above, and place
all of the tubes in a beaker half full of water. Keep the water a little
above the temperature of the body for several hours, examining the tubes
at intervals to note the progress of digestion. Inferences.




CHAPTER XI - ABSORPTION, STORAGE, AND ASSIMILATION


The dissolved nutrients, to reach the cells, must be transferred from the
alimentary canal to the blood stream. This process is known as
_absorption_. In general, absorption means the penetration of a liquid
into the pores of a solid, and takes place according to the simple laws of