Adolph Schmidt1 has persistently claimed that connective tissue is digested only, if at all, in the stomach, and never in the small intestine. This view has been accepted by such investigators as Sahli2 and Strasburger3 abroad, and in this country among others by Dr. Charles D. Aaron.4
As a corollary to this statement, it follows, as emphasized by Schmidt, that the finding of large amounts of undigested connective tissue in the stool, particularly after the administration of his test diet, is an indication of a disturbed gastrogenic function, since there is no participation of the small intestine in the digestion of connective tissue.
Assuming the claim to be correct, this phenomenon has both a theoretical and practical significance. Theoretically, this is important in indicating that from the standpoint of the digestion of one substance at least, the stomach was absolutely essential, and no vicarious functioning on the part of the