linitis plastics

litvak · Newbie Joined: 18 Jun 2005 Posts: 15

I have a friend who had terrible problems with his stomach for a long time. After all, his doctor concluded his problems seemed to be more serious then they thought. It was condition called linitis plastica. I have no idea what it could be, and I do not understand what it does mean. Can you tell me anything about this condition to help me understand his pains?

ame · Gold Member Joined: 01 Apr 2001 Posts: 358

Linitis plastica is the type of gastric malignancy, which is definitely serious problem. Gastric carcinoma most often appears as a mass in mucosa of gastric. However, sometimes, gastric carcinoma only infiltrates the lumen of the stomach. Then, only endoscopic finding is nondistensible stomach with a narrowed lumen. This special condition has been known as linitis plastica. A linitis plastica refers to a leather bottle stomach, and it describes a stomach that has a gastric carcinoma, which is morphologically an infiltrating carcinoma. Infiltrating carcinomas of the stomach tend to occur in younger patients and carry a poorer prognosis than other morphological types of carcinomas. Infiltrating carcinomas cause a leather bottle stomach because of spreading widely beneath the stomach mucosa. This pattern of growth causes thickening and stiffening of the stomach wall. As a result, the stomach also has a reduced capacity, and resultant stiff-walled, smaller capacity stomach is much akin to a linitis plastica.

linitis plastics

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