Starvation ulcer in the mouse

¹ Department of Gastro-Intestinal Research, Medical Research Institute, Michael Reese Hospital, Chicago, Illinois

In the Shay rat, nearly all ulcers occur on the prostomach, and recently it was reported that in the starving rat ulcers also form in the prostomach. We had the opposite experience with the starving mouse, in which nearly all ulcers occurred in the glandular stomach. This is quite different from previously reported work on the pylorus-ligated mouse, in which practically all ulcers were found in the prostomach. In the starving mouse, a sex difference was found, with a smaller percentage of ulcers in the female than in the male. Pregnancy does not appear to protect the mouse against the formation of starvation ulcer.