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W. R. PITNEY, M.D.; M. F. BEARD, M.D.

AMA Arch Intern Med. 1955;95(4):591-593.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

Intrinsic factor is essential, in man, for the absorption of the small amounts of vitamin B₁₂ normally present in the diet. There is evidence that the stomach is the only site of secretion of intrinsic factor.¹ Following total gastrectomy, the human would be expected to experience difficulty in the absorption of vitamin B₁₂ and eventually to develop a vitamin B₁₂ deficiency state.

Difficulty in absorption can be readily demonstrated by giving such patients small oral doses of radioactive (CO⁶⁰) vitamin B₁₂ and estimating the amount of radioactivity excreted in the feces.* In normal persons a considerable amount of the dose is absorbed, whereas in gastrectomized patients most of the administered radioactivity subsequently appears in the feces. The administration of a source of intrinsic factor together with the radioactive vitamin B₁₂ results in improved absorption and lessened fecal radioactivity.

Megaloblastic anemia may be a late complication of total gastrectomy. In four . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Author Affiliations
Louisville

From the Section of Hematology, Department of Medicine, University of Louisville School of Medicine.

Footnotes
This investigation was made possible by a grant from the National Institutes of Health, A-112 (C2), Bethesda, Md.

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