The increasing use of quaternary amines as inhibitors of gastric secretion suggested a study of some quaternary derivatives of atropine. Visscher, Seay, Tazelaar, Veldkamp, and Vander Brook (1954) have reported that hyoscine methyl bromide is a potent inhibitor of gastric secretion in rats. The reduction of gastric secretion produced by the synthetic quaternary ammonium compounds methantheline bromide (" Banthine ") and propantheline bromide (" Probanthine ") is said to be due to an atropine-like action-at least in the doses used clinically (Johnson and Wood, 1954).During the war a study (Ing, Dawes, and Wajda, 1945;Ing, 1946) of synthetic atropine analogues was undertaken, but it did not extend to substances containing the tropine nucleus. This was because the synthesis of atropine described by Robinson (1917) was still impracticable, owing to the cost of one of the starting substances. Newer methods of obtaining one of these substances, succinaldehyde, from furan are now available.The present work compares the effects of atropine sulphate and some quaternary atropine derivatives on gastric secretion in rats with the pylorus tied. The drugs used were atropine methyl iodide, atropine ethyl bromide, atropine propyl iodide, atropine benzyl chloride, and atropinep-nitrobenzyl chloride. Atropine propyl halide and p-nitrobenzyl halide do not seem to have been described before. The drugs were kindly supplied by Drs. R. G. Johnston and C. G. Haining, of Messrs. T. & H. Smith, Ltd., Edinburgh. METHODS The method used is a modification of that of Visscher et al. (1954). Male albino rats (160 to 260g. body weight) were used. They were all taken from the same colony, as rats of some strains have a poor spontaneous secretion. The animals were housed at 70°F., and fed on a pelleted diet. They were fasted in cages containing groups of six to twelve. The cages had wide-meshed wire bases to minimize coprophagy.The pre-operative fast from solid food lasted 48 hr. During the first 24 hr. of this period the animals had a choice of two bottle-feeds, one of skimmed fresh milk to which had been added 5% glucose and 0.4% NaCl, the other of water. During the next day, the animals had a choice of 5% glucose, 0.4% NaCl, and plain water. On the night before operation the animals had a choice of three drinks-0.4% NaCl, 0.2% NaCl, and water. The rats were shaved on the day before the fast, and were weighed at the end of the fasting period.Under methyl-n-propyl ether and ethyl ether anaesthesia, a 4 cm. midline abdominal incision was made, and the wound held open with self-retaining eyelid retractors. A ligature was placed around the duodenum near the pylorus, in such a way as to avoid trauma to the vessels.Five ml. of 0.8% NaCl was placed in the peritoneal cavity after the closure of the muscle layer with three silk sutures. The skin wound was closed with Michel clips and painted with collodion. The operation usually lasted 3 min.The drug, in aqueous solution, was injected intramuscularly or intraduodenally in volumes of 0.1 or 0.2 ml./100...