Gastric Emptying in Healthy Subjects and in Patients with Various Malabsorptive States

Moberg, S. & Carlberger, G. Gastric emptying in healthy subjects and in patients with various malabsorptive states. Scand. J. Gastroent. 1974, 9, 17-21. Gastric emptying of a 300-ml liquid test meal containing fat, carbohydrate, and protein was measured in 7 healthy subjects and in 8 patients with steatorrhoea, 4 of whom had distal resections of the small intestine, 2 chronic pancreatitis, and 2 coeliac disease. The gastric emptying curve for the healthy subjects could be divided into a short, rapid phase and a much slower second phase, during which a constant amount of the test meal was emptied per minute. The patients who excreted 40 g or more of faecal fat daily emptied the entire volume very rapidly and without any marked change in emptying rate during the experiment. The patients with less steatorrhoea showed a lesser degree of disturbed emptying. The finding agrees with the assumption that gastric emptying of a test meal of the type used is regulated by fat absorption.