Fantastic feeding funnels

doi:10.1136/bmj.a2888

Published 16 December 2008, doi:10.1136/bmj.a2888
Cite this as: BMJ 2008;337:a2888

Analysis

Christmas 2008: Food and Drink

Fantastic feeding funnels

M P Park, lecturer in history of art¹, R H R Park, consultant gastroenterologist²

¹ Department of Adult and Continuing Education, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G3 6NH, ² Southern General Hospital, Glasgow

Correspondence to: M P Park mpark@educ.gla.ac.uk

Eating is a common theme in art but few images depict artificialnutrition, say Maureen and Richard Park

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

As the festive season gets underway, many will turn their attentionto the fine art of eating. In December 2007 a poll estimatedthat on Christmas Day the British public would each gorge themselveson 6000 kcal (25.10 MJ) of culinary delights.¹ The term "gavage,"from the French "to gorge," is used to describe the force feedingof ducks and geese for the production of pâté defoie gras using funnels. For many centuries funnels have alsobeen utilised for the force feeding of prisoners and psychiatricpatients. Similar devices have been used to provide artificialfeeding for patients who, severely troubled by anorexia andnausea, may well have considered their treatment as a form offorce-feeding. Although the act of eating is a common themein art, few images of artificial nutrition exist, and in particularthe use of feeding funnels.