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Laparoscopy was performed in 140 patients who ranged in age from eight to eighty-five years. It was employed only when other methods had failed to give a firm diagnosis. The results were compared with the diagnosis made before the examination, and with the final results of biopsy, cholangiography, surgery and/or autopsy. The endoscopie diagnosis was correct in 137 cases (97.9 per cent), incorrect in three (2.1 per cent). Laparoscopy was highly efficient in the differential diagnosis of ascites, hepatomegaly and abdominal tumors. It was possible to differentiate hepatic jaundice from obstructive jaundice but the cause of the obstruction often could not be demonstrated by laparoscopy alone. In patients with known carcinoma, metastases to the liver or peritoneum could be visualized, but it was not possible to establish exactly the local spread of the tumor.

In this study, 1023 patients ranging in age from 13 to 78 years were examined. Two blind biopsies of gastric mucosa were obtained in each patient. Acid secretion was measured by means of the augmented histamine test. Gastric alkaline and peptic secretion as well as uropepsinogen levels were determined at the same time.