Quantificantion of gastric solid-liquid discrimination during digestion of ordinary meals.

A method has been developed and validated that simultaneously quantifies gastric secretion and the emptying of solids and liquids after an ordinary mixed meal. Using this technique in healthy persons, it is possible to: (1) measure the transformation of the meal in the stomach, where partial digestion and solubilization reduced the volume of the solids by one-fifth, while endogenous secretion increased 3 times the volume of the liquid phase; (2) distinguish the gastric emptying pattern for solid and liquid meal components from the emptying of gastric juice; and (3) quantify the discriminatory function of the stomach which "filters" solids as it allows liquid to empty into the duodenum.