Body weight and maximal acid output.

Dose-response curves were obtained from forty male control subjects and forty male patients with duodenal ulcer from India on the subcutaneous histamine test. The body weight and maximal acid output (MAO) showed a positive correlation just significant at the 5% level in control subjects (=0·05) but not in patients with duodenal ulcer. The values of MAO on dose-response curves are comparable in control subjects but are appreciably lower in patients with duodenal ulcer from India compared with those from Britain and North America. However, the values expressed as μEq/kg body weight are considerably higher in both groups of subjects from India compared with those from western populations.