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The mucosal irritation associated with gastroesophageal reflux disease is widely thought to be due to the caustic effect of the acidic gastric refluxate. The assumption is that the irritation and the injury to the esophagus are essentially a chemical burn caused by hydrogen ions coming into direct contact with the squamous epithelium of the esophagus.
To further examine early histologic events in the development of reflux esophagitis, investigators performed esophagoduodenostomies on 34 rats to allow esophageal reflux of both gastric and duodenal contents. The animals were sequentially euthanized at postoperative days 3 and 7 and then weekly for 8 weeks. Two control rats that received sham operations were euthanized at 8 weeks. Esophageal sp…