Journal of Tropical Medicine JTM oct.-Nov. (1990) V01.1, No. 2, Ei-Assiomy et •!., 111-116 111 DETECTION OF GASTRIC EPITHELIUM IN THE DUODENUM IN PATIENTS WITH DUODENAL ULCER EI-Assiouty E, *Samia A Youssef, Saddik Y, Khattab N and Ibrahim A. Departments of Internal Medicine and *Pathology, Benha Faculty of Medicine, University ofZagazig. Abstract Detection of gastric epithelium was studied in 20 patients with symptomatic and endoscopically proven duodenal ulcer. Histopathologic study of biopsies taken from the mucosa close to ulcers showed that five patients (25%) had normal villi, 12 patients (60%) had atrophic villi and 3 had short blunt villi (15%). Gastric epithelium was detected in 15.9% of the total villi. Gastric cells were more prevalent in women than in men, present in clusters, more in the stunted villi and near the tips and sides, they appear when free acidity is higher than 20 mEq/L. It could be suggested that the appearance of gastric epithelium in duodenal ulcers may be a metaplasia from intestinal cells which may play a protective role against high acidity. The greater prevalence in women may play a part in relative immunity of that sex to the development of duodenal ulcer.