[Varioloform (complete) erosions in the stomach and duodenum]

One thousand five hundred and eighty-three patients who were x-rayed for dyspepsia showed varioliform erosions in 15.3%. Men had an incidence of 9.8%, almost twice as common as in women (5.5%). Mucosal polyps, usually of the hyperplastic type, occurred in 2.4%. 15% of patients with gastric ulcers and 16% of patients with duodenal ulcers had varioliform erosions. On the other hand, amongst patients with erosions, 11% had gastric ulcers and 8.3% duodenal ulcers. The definitions of erosion which have been given in the literature are partly contradictory, and are discussed. Varioliform erosions, also known as complete erosions, may be acute or chronic. They are the third most common cause of bleeding from the upper gastrointestinal tract. With modern radiological methods of examining the stomach, they are no longer a rare finding.