DISCOVERY OF DIGESTION
Till the beginning of 1800, the process of digestion in the human body was enveloped in great enigma.
However, during the nineteenth century, four men contributed in solving the puzzle of digestion. Let us read about each one of them in detail.
Discovery by William Beaumont
The very first discovery was carried out by William Beaumont who was an assistant surgeon in the U.S. army.
Beaumont was the first to study about human digestion.
On 6th June, 1822, he was called to a fur company store in Mackinac Island to medicate a Canadian trapper named, Alexis St. Martin. He was shot in the stomach during the war. It generated a wound of about the size of a human's hand in the abdominal area. Even after continuous treatment, it left a hole in the gastric area which is known as gastric fistula.
Beaumont thought that the man would die. But, he recovered phenomenally inspite of having the fistula. The hole was so profoundly open that it could be looked into his stomach with ease.
Although Beaumont had access to a living human stomach, he had no interest in the study of digestion.
But, he was a keen observer.
On August 1 , 1825, he initiated controlled experimentation by suspending foods like beef, pork and cabbage in the stomach on strings.
He observed the stages at regular intervals and carefully recorded them. He also took samples of the gastric secretions and sent it to various chemists for analysis.
Over the years, Beaumont made several experiments on St. Martin. It was in 1838 that he published his book: Experiments and Observations on the Gastric Juice, and The Physiology of Digestion.By this time, St. Martin was stupefied playing the role of a guinea pig. So they parted ways.
William Beaumont died on 25 April, 1853 as a result of slipping on ice- covered steps.
Due to his earliest contribution to the discovery of digestion , he is known as the 'Father of Gastric Physiology.'
Digestion by William Prout
William Prout was an english chemist and physician.
In 1823, Prout discovered that stomach juices contain hydrochloric acid which can be separated from gastric juice by distillation.
In 1827, he proposed the classification of substances in food into sugars, starches, oily bodies and albumen which were later known as carbohydrates, fats and proteins.
Discovery by Theodor Schwann
Theodor Schwann was a german biologist who is known as the framer of the cell theory.
In 1836, while investigating digestive processes he isolated a substance responsible for digestion in the stomach and named it pepsin. Later on, it was found that pepsin is responsible for breaking down proteins into amino acids.
Discovery by Claude Bernard
Claude Bernard was a french physiologist who is recognised for his discoveries regarding the role of pancreas in digestion.
In 1848, Bernard discovered that the pancreatic secretion could emulsify and saponify fatty substances. This was done due to an enzyme which was later known as pancreatic lipase.
This article is made to throw light to the major biologists who commenced discoveries to the process of digestion.
