Diagnostic and Therapeutic Applications of Gastrointestinal Hormones

Abstract

The gastrointestinal hormones secretin and gastrin were discovered in 1902 and 1905 respectively. For many years it was taught that gastrin controlled gastric acid secretion, secretin controlled pancreatic bicarbonate, and cholecystokinin-pancreozymin controlled the contraction of the gallbladder and the enzyme output of the pancreas. Because of the development of such techniques as ion exchange chromatography, gel chromatography, affinity chromatography, radioimmunoassay, and isoelectric focusing, the decade of the 1970s led to a spectacular improvement in the isolation and chemical purification of many gut peptides.