[Evaluation of the gastric wall with x-ray computed tomography]

A CT study of the stomach was carried out on 122 patients: 50 normals, 44 carcinomas, 8 lymphomas, 4 polyps, 2 leiomyomas, 14 varices. In order to evaluate the gastric wall, the stomach was filled with 400 cc of water. In normal patients, the technique proposed enabled a good study of the gastric wall, improving the visualisation of the inner surface. Even if small in size, lesions in patients affected by pathology were recognizable in all cases. It was also possible to recognize small pathological parietal thickening and the mucous or submucous extension of the lesions. The results obtained suggest that filling the stomach with water is a technique to be recommended for CT evaluation of the gastric wall.