Contractions Of The Stomach may be general or local. A General contraction is produced when the stomach is long deprived of food. This is most directly produced by obstruction of the oesophagus or cardiac orifice, but also occurs when, for any other reason, food is not taken. There is also a general shrinking sometimes as a consequence of scirrhous cancer, and a similar shrinking may be produced by peritonitis which has led to thickening and contraction of the peritoneum generally.

Partial contractions are usually the result of cicatrization of ulcers. As these are mostly on the lesser curvature, the two orifices may be drawn close together. Sometimes an hour-glass contraction may be produced in this way. There is also occasionally an hour-glass con traction visible post mortem, which depends merely on an irregular contraction of the muscular coat and is of no special significance. Cancer of the stomach may produce partial contraction. It is to be remarked, however, that simple ulcers of the stomach mostly heal without considerable contraction, the cicatrices being quite flat.

Literature

Widekhofer, Gerhardt's Handb. d. Kinderkrankh., it., 1880; Landerer, Angeb. Stenose des Pylorus, Tubingen, 1879; Maier, Virch. Arch., cii., 1885; Tilger, ibid.'cxxxiii., 1893; Carrington, (Hour-glass contr.) Path, trans., xxxiii., 1882; Hudson, ibid., xxxviii., 1887.