[Black esophagus and black duodenum - rare cause of an upper gastrointestinal bleeding]

We present the case of a 73-year-old female patient with acute esophageal necrosis, or black esophagus, and consecutive distal esophageal perforation. Additionally, the patient had the rare coincidence of duodenal necrosis or black duodenum. Black esophagus is usually diagnosed endoscopically and is characterized by a circular necrosis of the esophagus with abrupt normalization at the gastroesophageal junction. Black esophagus is a rare cause of symptoms of upper gastrointestinal bleeding with a mortality rate of up to 30 %. Complications include esophageal perforation and esophageal stricture formation. No causal therapy is available.