The volumetric measurement of gastric emptying and gastric secretion by a radioisotope method.

Most methods of measurements of gastric emptying rely on the serial estimation of intragastric volume and do not separately account for the volume of fluid which has been added to the meal by gastric secretion, duodenal reflux, or swallowed saliva. The volume emptied is therefore underestimated. A method of measuring gastric emptying using [125I]RIHSA and the Volémetron is presented. The volume of fluid added to the meal is taken into consideration in this method, giving a more accurate reflection of gastric emptying. Using this method in the dog, emptying was found to be linear rather than exponential.