The Histopathology of the Experimental Hypersensitive State in the Gastrointestinal Tract

Abstract

Introduction There is an increasing awareness of the potential role of immunologic disorders in human disease. Recent reports^1-6suggest a hypersensitivity mechanism in diseases such as Hashimoto's disease¹chronic thyroiditis,³and acute hemorrhagic pancreatitis,³acute hepatitis,⁴certain instances of acute ulcerative colitis,⁵acute glomerulonephritis and the nephrotic syndrome,⁶sarcoidosis,⁷and Whipple's disease.^8,9Whereas symptoms caused by allergic reactions were attributed originally to change in function only,¹⁰subsequent studies have indicated conspicuous alterations in tissues, the site of a local hyperimmune state. Widespread pathological changes can be found also in the acute generalized anaphylactic reactions.^11-13Gastrointestinal hypersensitivity is rarely diagnosed clinically, however, chiefly because of the difficulty in demonstrating an antigen-antibody relationship in any given case. During recent studies on human stomach and colon tissue^14,15and in the experimental animals¹⁶information was collected regarding hypersensitivity reactions in the gastrointestinal tract. It seemed of interest to review this material as an