(1) The name given to a gastric-function test, involving injection of HISTAMINE – a powerful stimulator of gastric juice, or pentagastrin. After the stimulant has been injected, the digestive juices are withdrawn through a stomach tube (inserted through the nose and throat) and their volume and chemistry measured. A similar test is used to assess the working of the PANCREAS.

(2) The second meaning (also called test feed) applies to a diagnostic procedure for congenital hypertrophic PYLORIC STENOSIS, whereby a paediatrician feels over the baby's abdomen while he or she is feeding. The pyloric mass can be felt as a firm swelling with the consistency of a squash ball, which comes and goes under the examiner's fingers.