Abstract
We applied the laser Doppler velocimetry through a gastrofiberscope to investigate the human gastric microcirculation in normal subjects (n=30) and in patients with gastric ulcer (n=47). We simultaneously examined mucosal blood flow at the regions of corpus, antrum and angle of the stomach and, at the edge and the surrounding mucosa of the ulcer. In normal subjects, mucosal blood flow (MBF), which expressed Laser Doppler flow, of the antrum was significantly lower than that of the corpus (p<0.01), and MBF of lesser curvature was significantly lower compared with that of the greater curvature (p <0.01). In the course of ulcer healing, MBF of ulcer margins was the highest in the healing stage, and it was decreased in the scarring stage. There was no difference between MBF of the ulcer margin and that of the surrounding mucosa, irrespective of active or scarring stage, but MBF of the ulcer margin was significantly greater compared to that of the surrounding mucosa (p <0. 05) in the healing stage. It is suggested that measurement of gastric mucosal blood flow may be a useful method for studying pathophysiology of gastric microcirculation in patients with gastric ulcer.
