The excretion of phosphatase in the faeces.

The mucous membrane of the smnall intestine is rich in phosphatase which can be liberated into the blood stream or into the intestinal secretion. This accounts for a part of the faecal phosphatase. Estimation of the faecal phosphatase may therefore enable one to study biochemically the activity of the mucous membrane of the small intestine in the intact animal. The early publications on faecal phosphatase are reviewed by Folley & Kay [1936]. Heymann [1933] found the phosphatase activity to be reduced in rickets, spasmophilia and intestinal infantilism. Armstrong [1936] described the preparation of a strong phosphatase concentrate from dog faeces. Koster's [1938, 1939] most striking finding was the absence of phosphatase from the faeces in some cases of non-tropical sprue. In leukaemia values above the normal range were found. Duckworth & Godden [1941] used faecal phosphatase estimations to measure intestinal secretory activity in rats. The experiments to be described were performed on the stools of normal adults between 20 and 35 years of age, free from any gross peculiarities of dietetic habit.