Book Review

A History of Gastric Secretion and Digestion: Experimental Studies to 1975

N Engl J Med 1993; 328:519February 18, 1993

Article

A History of Gastric Secretion and Digestion: Experimental Studies to 1975
By Horace W. Davenport. 414 pp. New York, Oxford University Press, 1992. $75. ISBN: 0-19-507393-2

It is refreshing to find a book whose preface warns readers of the book's limitations. The author points out that he has restricted his review to studies of gastric physiology performed in the period between 1777 and 1975. He states that “some readers may think I have unduly emphasized my own work.” Finally, he acknowledges that he has limited the review to studies in humans, dogs, cats, and frogs. With these admissions in mind, the reader will be treated to a comprehensive review of the early history of gastric physiology.

The fundamental studies that delineated the relative roles of the autonomic nervous system and gut hormones in the control of gastric function are discussed in detail. The author discusses controversies in the field and his view of the role of important figures in gastrointestinal physiology. There is little emphasis on the local control of acid and gastrin release by paracrine agents or on the advances made at the cellular and molecular level; this probably reflects the cutoff date of 1975. Although one can understand and sympathize with the author for ending his review with 1975, this decision may limit the book's audience to those working specifically in the field of gastric secretion and to those interested in the history of gastrointestinal physiology.

Readers unfamiliar with the field who wish to place the most recent advances in gastric physiology in historical context will probably be disappointed. The amazing developments of the past 15 years, including the delineation of the structure and function of the hydrogen-ion pump, the development of potent antisecretory drugs based on an understanding of stimulus-secretion coupling in the parietal cell, and our awareness of the importance of local paracrine control of acid and gastrin secretion, are given scant mention. Although the author warns the reader that his review ends with 1975, there is an obvious trend in thought and the development of ideas that dates back well before Pavlov and that extends to the present. Recent advances could clearly not have been made without the contributions of the investigators whose work is discussed and summarized in this book. Ending the review with 1975 leaves uninitiated readers with the uncertainty and controversy that existed among gastrointestinal physiologists in the mid-1970s. They will fail to appreciate the excitement engendered by the recent resolution of much of this controversy. In contrast, those currently in the field will appreciate that they truly stand on the shoulders of giants such as I.P. Pavlov, Morton I. Grossman, and Charles F. Code.

Ian L. Taylor, M.B., Ch.B., Ph.D.
Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710