Quantification of ethanol-induced gastric mucosal injury by transmission densitometry

A method to objectively quantify the extent of ethanol-induced gastric lesions has been developed. The method utilizes a transmission densitometer to measure the optical density of the photographic negative of the stomach mucosa. Tissues from ethanol- and untreated animals are compared with tissues from animals pretreated with prostanoids before ethanol; this method permits a reproducible and objective evaluation of mucosal protection. We demonstrate that the optical density is proportional to subjective score and damage, and that the densitometry method differentiates between the protective effect of different doses of 16,16-dimethyl prostaglandin E2 and natural prostaglandin E2.