Morphology of the gastric mucosa in patients with ulcer diseases.

Abstract

The normal morphology of the gastric mucosa has been described clearly (1, 2). The structure of the mucosal lining of the stomach is not uniform but differs with its location. Acid-secreting fundal gland mucosa normally is found in the gastric fundus and body while non-acid-secreting pyloric or antral gland mucosa is found in the antrum. Both fundal and pyloric gland mucosa have similar mucous-secreting gastric surface cells which line the gastric pits and surface. These are rapidly renewed as new cells are formed at the base of the pits maintaining the integrity of the gastric mucosal lining as old cells are exfoliated from the surface. This rapid renewal rate of surface epithelium (4 to 5 days in humans) helps to explain the rapid healing which may follow injury to the superficial layer of the gastric mucosa. While the superficial layers of the fundal and antral mucosae appear identical in structure, the deeper or glandular layers of the mucosae differ. Fundal mucosa normally contains many acid-secreting parietal cells and pepsin-secreting chief cells, wherea~ antral mucosa contains primarily mucous-secreting glandular cells. Both fundal and antral mucosae contain endocrine epithelial cells; however, the endocrine cell populations are distinctive in each type of mucosa. For example, the endocrine cells which produce gastrin are confined primarily to antral mucosa (3). The cell renewal rates of the glandular layer of both antral and fundal mucosa are much slower than the surface cell renewal rate, hence the glandular cells are relatively stable cell populations.