Effect of restraint on fasting gastric content of spider monkeys

¹ Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The effect of restraint in a chair, compared to conditions permitting free movement, on the fasting gastric content was studied in spider monkeys during 3- and 24-hr experiments. In the 3-hr experiments, the volume and "free" and total acid concentrations were significantly reduced during restraint. The pepsin concentration was increased but not to a statistically significant level. In the 24-hr experiments, there was little change noted in volume and acid concentration throughout the study when the animals were restrained. In contrast the freemoving animals showed a greater volume during the period of daytime activity than when they were restrained, but exhibited a marked decrease in volume and acid concentration during the night. The pepsin concentration during the first 9 hr was significantly greater in the restraint experiments.

Key Words: gastric secretion • acid concentration • pepsin

Submitted on April 16, 1963