digestive disorders
Gastritis
Introduction
Gastritis is inflammation of the stomach lining. The inflammation can be caused by many factors, including infection, stress resulting from severe illness, injury, use ofaspirinand other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) alcohol, and disorders of the immune system. When symptoms of gastritis do occur, they include abdominal pain or discomfort and sometimes nausea or vomiting. Doctors often base the diagnosis on the person's symptoms, but sometimes they need to examine the stomach with a flexible viewing tube (upper endoscopy). Treatment is with medications that reduce stomach acid and sometimes antibiotics. (See also Introduction to Gastritis and Peptic Ulcer Disease .) The stomach lining resists irritation and can usually withstand very strong acid. Nevertheless, in gastritis, the stomach lining becomes irritated and inflamed. Gastritis is divided into two categories based on how severe it is: Erosive Nonerosive Erosive gastritisis more severe than nonerosive gastritis. This form involves both inflammation and wearing away (erosion) of the stomach lining. Erosive gastritis typically develops suddenly (called acute erosive gastritis) but may develop slowly (called chronic erosive gastritis), usually in people who are otherwise healthy. Nonerosive gastritisis characterized by changes in the stomach lining that range from wasting away (atrophy) of the stomach lining to transformation of stomach tissue into another type of intestinal tissue (metaplasia). Often, several types of white blood cells accumulate in the stomach and cause varying degrees of inflammation. Inflammation can occur in the entire stomach or only in certain parts. 