Computer-based quantitative morphometric analysis of the dynamic characteristics of indomethacin and ethanol-induced gastric lesions in the rat.

A computerized morphometric analysis was used to measure the gastric lesions in rats induced by oral administration of 2 mL of 100% EtOH or indomethacin 80 mg/kg. In both cases, the lesions were followed over a period of several days to determine their time course characteristics. Indomethacin lesions were present 1 hr after the administration of the drug and reached a peak after 6 hr. Ethanol lesions appeared as early as 1 min after administration and were fully expressed after 1 hr. Recovery of the gastric mucosa was observed after 2 and 6 days, respectively. The use of this computerized systems allows precise measurements of gastric lesions and facilitates the evaluation of the effect of drugs in the gastrointestinal tract.