An excess of acid in the stomach would enfeeble the solvent power of the intestinal fluids by antagonizing neutralization by the alkaline bile; the same effect follows any cause which prevents the outflow of the bile, as the plugging of the common bile-duct by mucus and epithelium in catarrh or by an impacted gall-stone. The emulsification of fats is incomplete and decomposition in the intestine follows. The antagonism of the saliva and the gastric juice, of the gastric juice (or the chyme) and the bile, must preserve their delicate and nice adjustment in order for digestion to be properly performed.

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