STUDIES ON ENZYMATIC HISTOCHEMISTRY : XXVI. THE HISTOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION OF CHOLINE ESTERASE IN THE GASTRIC MUCOSA NORMALLY AND AFTER ADMINISTRATION OF CERTAIN DRUGS.

Extraction experiments demonstrated that choline esterase could be removed from microtome sections of tissue with as great facility by 0.9 per cent NaCl as by 30 per cent glycerol. The quantitative distribution of choline esterase through the wall of the pig stomach was studied, and it was found that the epithelial cell region possessed the greatest activity and muscle tissue the least. Pylorus was more active than fundus or cardia. The enzyme activities found were independent of the physiological state of the normal stomach at the time the animal was killed. Neither intramuscular injection of acetyl choline, eserine, nor atropine shortly before killing had significant influence upon the activity in any region of the stomach. The implications of these results were discussed.