Abstract
In examining the gastro-intestinal tract of rats which were being used for other experiments our attention was directed to the frequent occurrence of lesions in the rumen or esophageal portion of the stomach. These lesions, in brief, consisted of an inflammatory edema of the mucosa and submucosa, with marked cellular reaction, and in most cases, localized ulceration. Associated with these inflammatory changes there was always present more or less epithelial hyperplasia. These lesions were situated by preference near the elevated ridge which divides the rumen from the glandular portion of the rat's stomach.
A relation of the lesions to dietary factors is strongly suggested in the following table:
It is seen from the above figures that none of the 43 rats on complete diets showed gastric lesions; whereas of 36 rats on variously deficient regimens lesions were present in 20, or approximately 55 per cent. It seems justifiable to infer that the occurrence of the lesions is in some way determined by the diet. We are not as yet able to define this relationship in terms of known deficiencies. The relative acidity or alkalinity of the diet, when complete in regard to its basic food constituents, appears to be without influence. The addition of cod liver oil to a diet deficient only in fat soluble vitamine afforded complete protection in the small series studied. The indications are, therefore, that the deficiency in fat soluble vitamine is an important factor, but further experiments are in progress.
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