ABSTRACT
Epithelial damage, mucosal inflammation and epithelial cell regeneration represent the histological response of the stomach to injury. The term ‘gastritis’ implies the microscopic evidence of inflammation, in which all processes of mucosal response to injury are present, whereas the term ‘gastropathy’ is used for conditions in which epithelial injury is associated with cellular regeneration and the inflammation is not the prominent feature.1 The definite diagnosis of gastritis is thus exclusively based on histological assessment of biopsy specimens, whereas gastropathies are occasionally diagnosed on endoscopic appearance. For this reason, great confusion has been generated by the inappropriate use of the term gastritis.
