ABSTRACT
Inflammation of the gastric mucosa (gastritis) is either acute or chronic. For purposes of classification, the stomach is divided into two regions: body and antrum. Gastritis may predominantly involve one of these regions, or both (pangastritis). The nature of gastritis (bacterial, autoimmmune, etc.) can only be reliably diagnosed histologically, with biopsies taken from both the body and the antrum to assess the extent. Neither the symptoms nor the macroscopic changes at endoscopy are a reliable indicator of the severity or extent of involvement.
