INCIDENCE OF GASTRIC ULCER IN ALBINO RATS FED DIETS DEFICIENT IN VITAMIN B (B(1))

73 per cent of a group of albino rats whose diet was deficient in vitamin B have been found to have ulcerations of the gastric mucosa. A control group was found to be free from gastric lesions. Of 74 observed lesions eight were chronic, indurated ulcers resembling chronic peptic ulcer in man. The chronicity of the ulcers seems to be related to the duration rather than the degree of the deficiency. The lesions were generally located along the lesser curvature of the stomach, as is true in man. The size of the lesions in rat and man are comparable if adjustment is made for differences in the sizes of the organs.