title: Chronic gastritis and the distribution of parietal cells in duodenal ulcer patients and normals.
abstract: Pentagastrin-stimulated acid secretion and parietal cell density were studied in 51 patients with duodenal ulcer (DU) and 26 patients without ulcer disease (non-DU). Chronic gastritis was assessed for a comparative study between parietal cell density and grade as well as the extent of gastritis. Parietal cell density was estimated with a high degree of accuracy, since the difference in cell counts of two adjacent biopsies and the inter- and intra-observer variation never exceeded 10%. The density calculated from three regional biopsies was representative for the density of the entire corpus mucosa. Parietal cell density was similar in normal mucosa, superficial chronic gastritis and mild atrophic gastritis, while fewer parietal cells were found in severe chronic atrophic gastritis. Nonuniform distribution of chronic gastritis was more frequent in DU than in non-DU, and may explain the lack of correlation between acid secretion and parietal cell number. If severe chronic atrophic gastritis is found to be localized, parietal cell density investigations will require multiple biopsies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery 1., Kommunehospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Beck
mesh_terms: D002908:Chronic Disease; D004381:Duodenal Ulcer / Q000473:pathology*; D005750:Gastric Juice / Q000378:metabolism; D005756:Gastritis / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D010295:Parietal Cells, Gastric / Q000473:pathology*