Stress-induced vascular damage and ulcer.

Factors controlling gastric mucosal blood flow are now better understood, and improved techniques have been established to study microcirculation in the gastrointestinal tract. In this paper, four areas are reviewed: gross and microscopic vessels that supply blood to the stomach; factors that control gastrointestinal blood flow; pathogenic role of disturbed mucosal blood flow circulation induced by stress; and findings in early vascular permeability and injury caused by cold restraint stress in the rat.