Abstract
Emptying and absorption of ethanol from the stomach were studied using test meals of 350 ml containing phenol red and ethanol (60 mg/ml) instilled into the stomachs of 7 healthy subjects. Emptying was allowed to proceed normally and the gastric contents were aspirated at different intervals on different days. Emptying was compared to water meals of equal volume containing no ethanol. Emptying of ethanol meals and water meals proceeded at the same rate up to 30 min when about 90% of the meal had left the stomach. Absorption of ethanol was related directly to the time present in the stomach. The mean coefficient of absorption of ethanol was 4.7 ml/min, and this was constant throughout the 30 min. Acid output in response to ethanol meals was equal to that in response to water meals.
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The Gastroenterology Unit is supported in part by the Bushell Trust.
The author thanks Miss Joan Moulang and Mrs. Angela Garske for technical assistance, the students for their continued cooperation and Dr Morton Grossman for his critical review of the manuscript.
Research Fellow supported by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia
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Cooke, A.R. The simultaneous emptying and absorption of ethanol from the human stomach. Digest Dis Sci 15, 449–454 (1970). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02283874
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02283874