A procedure to measure the output of acid by the stomach. A nasogastric tube is passed into the stomach after an overnight fast, and a sample of gastric fluid is sucked up through the tube. An injection of histamine or, more usually, pentagastrin (a synthetic preparation of the hormone gastrin) is given; further samples of stomach fluid are taken at intervals for up to 2 hours and analysed for hydrochloric acid content. The test is used for people thought to be suffering from Zollinger–Ellison syndrome, and to confirm the absence of stomach acid in people with pernicious anaemia (see anaemia, pernicious).
Test meal |
|
|