[Acute gastro-duodenal ulceration--lesions without a niche (author's transl)]

Between 1974 and 1978 we saw nine patients with acute gastro-duodenal ulcers. Morphologically these were characterised by their unusual extent without deep penetration, by sharp bizarre contours, and with symmetrical findings in the gastric antrum. Spasm and submucous inflammatory reactions may obscure the niche of an antral ulcer and lead to stenosis and rigidity; in the differential diagnosis an infiltrating carcinoma must be excluded. This is possible by double contrast demonstration of the ulcer en face. The clinical picture is one of sudden, severe upper abdominal pain with features of an acute abdomen, often with a previous history of stress or of gastric distension with vomiting.