[Acid reduction and ulcer healing through vagotomy: is an inhibition of histamine release an essential reason for this?].

In a prospective, consecutive study the histamine content of corpus mucosa and the basal and maximally stimulated acid output were measured in male patients who had selective vagotomy to correct a chronic duodenal ulcer. The increase in histamine content after vagotomy was directly proportional to a decrease in maximum acid output. The relationships between histamine content, recurrent ulcer, and reduction in acid output point to a causal relationship between inhibition of histamine release and successful vagotomy.