| Reactive gastropathy | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Micrograph of a reactive gastropathy. H&E stain. | |
| Specialty | Pathology, gastroenterology |
Reactive gastropathy, chemical gastropathy also called gastritis of « C type » or "chemical gastritis" is an abnormality in the stomach caused by chemicals, e.g. bile, alcohol, and characteristically has minimal inflammation.
Cause
Reactive gastropathy has a large number of causes, including:
- Alcohol use disorder.
- Bile reflux, such as may be seen post-Billroth II.
- NSAIDs.
Diagnosis
- Foveolar hyperplasia (black arrow), as a tortuosity in the "neck" region of the gastric glands.
- Scant or minimal inflammatory cells (white arrow), i.e. lack of large numbers of neutrophils and plasma cells..
- Smooth muscle hyperplasia in the lamina propria (in black oval).
The diagnosis is by examination of tissue, e.g. a stomach biopsy.
Low mag.
High mag.
Relation to gastritis
Reactive gastropathy is morphologically distinct entity that can be separated from gastritis, which by definition has a significant inflammatory component.
As a reactive gastropathy may mimic a (true) gastritis symptomatically and visually in an endoscopic examination, it may incorrectly be referred to as a gastritis. Even aware of the underlying etiology of the pathologic process, e.g. NSAID use, the label "chemical gastritis" is applied to a chemical gastropathy.