A Comparison of Autoimmune Phenomena in Pernicious Anemia and Chronic Atrophic Gastritis

THE essential lesion in adult pernicious anemia is a lack of production of intrinsic factor that is invariably associated with chronic atrophic gastritis or gastric atrophy. The gastric lesion, however, is structurally not specific for pernicious anemia; there is good evidence that absorption of vitamin B12 may be within the normal range, or only slightly impaired, in cases in which the gastric lesion is histologically indistinguishable from that seen in pernicious anemia. In such patients, observed for some years, the development of pernicious anemia is uncommon.1 2 3 These findings have suggested a basic qualitative difference between pernicious anemia and atrophic . . .