The Japanese-style double-contrast examination of the stomach.

Western radiologists are using the Japanese-style double-contrast examination of the stomach with increasing frequency. Extensive experience now indicates that the double-contrast technique greatly increases the accuracy of the radiologic examination of the stomach. Lesions characterized by small irregularities in the mucosal surface of the stomach, such as superficial carcinomas, small or shallow ulcers, gastric erosions, and ulcer scars, are particularly apt to be detected only by double-contrast technique. The double-contrast study also increases the detectability of lesions in the proximal stomach, where compression and palpation are difficult to apply effectively.