The role of ischemia in the pathogenesis of stress induced gastric lesions in piglets.

Ten conscious piglets were subjected to hemorrhagic shock for three hours. Nine surviving piglets showed severe stress induced gastric mucosal lesions in the gastric fundus and corpus. Total as well as regional gastric blood flow was measured, 8 micron radioactive microspheres, in the same piglets before--control--and during hemorrhagic shock. Total gastric blood flow fell almost 90 per cent uring shock. There was a significantly higher flow reduction in the mucosa of the corpus and fundus, where almost all of the stress lesions were found. Measurement of blood flow within these lesions demonstrated a fall approximately to zero. Ischemia seems to be an important pathogenetic factor of gastric stress lesions. This may possibly render the gastric mucosa more susceptible to other injurious factors.