Secretory function of Barrett's epithelium.

Abstract

Detailed study of a patient whose esophagus was lined with islands of gastric-type epithelium for its whole length is described. This was associated with hiatus hernia, benign stricture and peptic ulcers at the level of the aortic arch. The motor function of the esophagus was disturbed, and the gastro-esophageal sphincter was feeble and incompetent. The mucosal histology resembled that of gastric mucosa, with chief cells containing pepsinogen granules and parietal cells which responded to histamine by secretion of hydrochloric acid. A year after this study, the patient died of carcinoma of the mid-esophagus.