DUODENOGASTRIC INTUSSUSCEPTION

The cause of peptic ulcer is unknown, and, unlike many diseases, even its control on empirical grounds is unsatisfactory. The amount of clinical and experimental work that has been done on the subject is enormous, and, as may be expected, there is a wide difference of opinion concerning its many phases. It is impossible to review all of the prevailing ideas adequately in this short paper; however, a brief summary of current opinion is important in order to lay the foundation for successful study. From the standpoint of the clinician and the experimental surgeon, three theories have been advanced as to the cause of peptic ulcer: first, the physiologic or secretory theory; second, the local anatomic or mechanical theory, and third, the general constitutional or systemic theory. The secretory theory, or the theory based on the digestive action of the gastric juice and the normal resisting powers of gastric and