The influence of the nervous system on the secretion of intestinal fluid is very clear. It was found by Moreau[15] that section of the nerves to the intestine brought about a large secretion of fluid into the intestine resembling closely that obtained by a Thiry-Vella fistula. Budge[16] had previously noted that extirpation of the ganglia of the coeliac plexus caused an increase of fluid in the intestine. The results of Moreau, who carried out his experiments with isolated loops, have been repeatedly confirmed, and some question has arisen as to the nature of the fluid secreted, some authors regarding it as a transudation, others as a true secretion. It has been compared by some to the rice water stools of Asiatic cholera, and on account of the analogy with the secretion which pours from the salivary gland after section of the chorda tympani it has been called a paralytic secretion. Landois[17] ascribes the secretion to the cutting of vasomotor nerves which causes circulatory changes so marked that a transudation of fluid occurs. In the leg, however, it has been shown that the normal transudation and lymph formation are not increased by section of the nerves. One would also expect to find oedema of the intestinal wall if this were a process of transudation due to vascular changes. Such oedema does not occur. The nature of the fluid obtained by section of the nerves to the intestine has been studied by many investigators. Moreau described it as a light yellow clear fluid with a strongly alkaline reaction. Its specific gravity is 1.008. It contains carbonates, chlorides, organic materials and a little urea. According to Hanau,[18] the fluid contains no digestive ferments, although in the dog he found that in the first part of the secretion fibrin was digested to some extent and starch converted into sugar. This he ascribed to the presence of pancreatic juice. Mendel[19] has recently worked on this subject and finds also that the pure paralytic secretion has no digestive action on fibrin, but that there is a slight amylolytic action. Cane sugar and maltose are inverted, while milk sugar is not. The fact that the paralytic secretion resembles very closely the normal secretion both physically and chemically seems to indicate that it is a true secretion and not a transudation.