THE VAGUS-denervated antrum pouch releases gastrin in response to contact with food1 or distention.2 This response is abolished by the previous local application of topical anesthetics to the antrum mucosa or by the parenteral administration of atropine.3 These observations indicate that there exists a local mechanism governing gastrin release and suggest that this mechanism is in part dependent on local nervous reflexes.
In 1942, Uvnas4 advanced the concept that vagus impulses cause a direct release of gastrin, and in subsequent years he and his associates secured much additional evidence in its support. It is postulated that the vagi make direct connections with the gastrin-producing cells or with the local gastrin-releasing mechanism. Support for this idea of a vagal release of gastrin was reported from our laboratory5 as a result of experiments on animals with isolated vagus-innervated antrum pouches. At that time (1957), it was suggested