Introduction In 1888 Menetrier described a lesion of the stomach characterized primarily by a widespread hypertrophy of the gastric mucosa.1 Menetrier divided his cases into two anatomical categories, "Polyadenomes Polypeux" in which the stomach contained multiple discrete polyps, and "Polyadenomes en Nappe" in which the stomach mucosa was thrown up into tufts and waves resembling cerebral convolutions. Variations in the proportion of polyps to folds, and the presence or absence of inflammation, ulceration, or bleeding, have led to subsequent descriptions of this entity under many different headings. These include hypertrophied gastric mucosa,2,3 giant hypertrophic gastritis,4-8 large gastric rugae,9-12 multiple polyposis,1,13,14 protein-losing gastropathy,15,16 and at least 15 other titles.17 A degree of hypertrophy of the gastric mucosa, usually associated with some interference of the gastric function, is common to all these cases6,7,12,18,19; they seem best described by the term "hypertrophie gastropathy" as proposed by Dagnelie et al.17 The association between gastric