Synonyms in a broader sense
ancient Greek: Stomachos Greek: Gaster Latin: Ventriculus
Diseases of the stomach
Gastritis is an acute or chronic inflammation of the mucous membrane of the stomach. The causes of chronic gastritis are described by the classification of type A, B, C:
- Type A: Autoimmune Gastritis: In this stomach disease, antibodies are directed against the body’s own stomach structures and destroy them. This disease belongs to the rheumatic group of diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis
- Type B: Bacterial gastritis: The bacterium Helicobacter pylori causes erosion of the stomach lining, which can develop into a stomach ulcer.
- Type C: Chemically-induced gastritis Type C: In this stomach disease, the cause is usually permanent pain medication with drugs such as aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid), NSAIDs (e.g. ibuprofen, diclofenac, naproxen) and/or increased alcohol consumption.
An ulcer is a benign gastric ulcer that extends very deeply into the mucous membrane, at least into the lamina muscularis mucosae.
A dangerous complication of ulcer disease/peptic ulcer occurs when the ulcer injures a larger vessel, causing a life-threatening bleeding. The typical site where a gastric ulcer occurs is the small curvature (Curvatura minor) of the antrum. The most common causes of an ulcer are pain medication such as aspirin, NSAIDs, the bacterium Helicobacter pylori and other stress factors.
In Germany, stomach cancer is the seventh most common malignant tumor. In fact, it is the second most common tumor in the world. This type of tumor often remains clinically silent (asymptomatic) until the late stages and thus has a very poor prognosis, as early treatment is often missed.
The most important risk factors for gastric cancer are the colonization of the stomach mucosa with the bacterium Helicobacter pylori and nirtosamine found in food. This stomach disease occurs most frequently in the area of the antrum, the pylorus and the small curvature, but it also occurs in 25% of cases at the entrance to the stomach (cardia).
