Abstract: It is the intention of this paper to present a brief review of the history and the present status of the surgery of the stomach. Although gastrotomy for the removal of a swallowed knife was done as early as 1602 by Matthis of Brandenburg, and gastrostomy for stricture of the esophagus was done by Sedillot in 1849, the surgery of the stomach can very properly be said to date from Billroth's successful pylorectomy made in February of 1881. Stomach surgery, therefore, has reached its majority; it is twenty-one years old. It has reached a stage in its development which enables us to estimate its present value and draw conclusions probably approximating the truth. Let us very briefly sketch its history. <h3>A BRIEF HISTORY OF STOMACH SURGERY.</h3> Billroth's successful pylorectomy of 1881 was preceded by an unsuccessful attempt by Pean in 1879, and by Rydygier in 1880. In