PASSAGE OF NATIVE PROTEINS THROUGH THE NORMAL GASTRO-INTESTINAL WALL 1

Abstract

The view most generally held to-day by the physiologist, chemist and clinician is that undigested antigens are not absorbed through the normal gastro-intestinal wall; and that when such absorption does occur, it is be- cause abnormal or pathological conditions exist, such as stasis, the excessive flooding of the intestines with protein foods, lessened activity of the di- gestive enzymes, altered conditions of the intestinal mucosa, and greater permeability of the intestinal wall characteristic of new-borns and suck- lings. There is some evidence for the absorption of unsplit proteins under normal conditions but this is regarded as a fortuitous occurrence. In the light of the conflicting opinions present in the literature and the important role this subject plays in allergy and other conditions as yet not clearly de- fined, we determined to reopen the problem.