[Morphological changes in the gastric mucosa of rats following chronic antacid administration]

The effect on histological changes of the stomach mucosa of 50 male and 50 female Wistar-rats was tested after a constant application of antacidum which was given up to 12 weeks. After 8 weeks the number of agryophile endocrine-active G-cells in the antrum has doubled; then it hardly increased any more during the last period of the experiment. In the corpus mucosa an increase of argyrophile cells could be noticed at the end of the experiment. The relation of the various cell populations of the specific corpus glands shifted a little in favour of the parietal cells. This resulted in a 10 per cent increase of the parictal cells and an equal decrease of the chief cells. The mucoid superficial cells did not show any significant changes just as much as the thickness of the mucosa in all three regions of the stomach did not alter during the total lenght of the experiment. Statistically significant differences between a low dose (1 ml/die) and a high dose (2 ml/die) could not be ascertained. The hyperplasia of argyrophile cells of the corpus is seen in correlation with the hyperplasia of the G-cells respectively the increased release of gastrin, because somatostatin produces a generally inhibitory effect, especially on the release of gastrin.