An unusual stress-induced gastric lesion.

An unusual type of gastric lesions, clearly different from erosions, was produced in rats by prolonged immobilization and application of adrenaline at the first and the third hour of stress. The lesions are large, round, highly hyperaemic elevations of the glandular part of the rat stomach. Necrosis of the superficial 2/3 of the mucosa with haemorrhages and leucocytic infiltration as well as marked oedema, focal haemorrhages, necrotic vasculitis and darkly stained phagocytes in the submucosa are the most prominent histological features of it. Some special conditions seem to be necessary for the development of this "superficial gastric necrosis".