A method of inducing chronic gastric and duodenal ulcer by electrocoagulation in rats

The described method includes electrocoagulation of the serous membrane of the stomach or duodenum by means of surgical diathermy. Under Nembutal general anaesthesia laparotomy was done and a ball-tip electrode was applied to the exposed anterior wall of the stomach or duodenal bulb. At the site of its contact with the serosa coagulation developed visible as a white spot approximately the size of the electrode tip. The ulcerogenic process triggered in this way developed within three days after the procedure. A deep ulcer in the mucosa developing during that time assumed in the second week the shape of a crater. From that time on ulcer healing began and progressed as evidenced by gradual diminution of its size. Complete healing of an untreated ulcer occurred in most animals after about five weeks. The extent of the ulcer niche was determined under a stereoscopic microscope calculating its area in mm2. A comparison of ulcer area in the animals treated with drugs inducing ulcer healing with this area in control rats made possible quantitative evaluation of the therapeutic effect.