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Definition

Gastric acid determination, also known as stomach acid determination, gastric analysis, or basal gastric secretion, is a procedure to evaluate gastric (stomach) function. The test specifically determines the presence of gastric acid, as well as the amount of gastric acid secreted. It is often done in conjunction with the gastric acid stimulation test, a procedure that measures gastric acid output after injection of a drug to stimulate gastric acid secretion.

Purpose

The purpose of the gastric acid determination is to evaluate gastric function by measuring the amount of acid as suctioned directly from the stomach. The complete gastric acid determination includes the basal gastric secretion test, which measures acid secretion while the patient is in a fasting state (nothing to eat or drink), followed by the gastric acid stimulation test,...