eatment.~--The following points must be kept in mind in
formulating a dietary for patients suffering from a deficiency of
hydrochloric acid: (1) boil the drinking water to destroy any bacteria
which may be present; (2) use carbohydrates in the form of starch
rather than sugar, since starch is less liable to fermentation from
bacteria than sugar; (3) limit the foods which delay the passage of
the food mass from the stomach; fats pass into the duodenum more
slowly than other foods and when fed with other foods delay their
passage materially; (4) avoid the use of soda bicarbonate, as it tends
to reduce the normal acid content of the stomach, thus preventing its
germicidal action upon the fermentative bacilli; alkaline carbonates
likewise inhibit the flow of gastric juices; (5) give especial
attention to the attractiveness of the food served; let it be
appetizing and savory, for by such means is the appetite juice and
incidentally an increased flow of the gastric juices stimulated; (6)
condiments and spices, meat broths high in extractives, and salt foods
such as caviar and endives may be given at the discretion of the
physician; it is seldom advisable to give the foods which are
indigestible, even when they act as stimulants to the secretory cells
of the stomach.

HYPERCHLORHYDRIA

(Excess secretion of acid in the stomach)

~The Effect of Excess Acid.~--An excessive flow of hydrochloric acid
has been found to be the cause of much of the acute and chronic
gastritis, in fact more of the cases are traceable to an excess than
to a lack of hydrochloric acid. This acid is more or less irritating
in character, and the tender mucous membranes lining the gastric organ
being constantly bathed in a secretion composed chiefly of acid must
necessarily in time suffer a certain amount of irritation and
inflammation, causing the development of a pathological condition
which may be temporary or permanent, that is, it may result in acute
or chronic gastritis, according to the amount of acid secreted and the
length of time the hypersecretion is allowed to continue.

~Determining the Acid Content of Stomach.~--The difference between the
cases brought about by an excess flow of hydrochloric acid are more or
less difficult to distinguish from those caused by a lack of this
constituent in the gastric juice, chiefly because in the latter case
the organic acids formed as the result of bacterial action upon the
food exert an equally irritati