What are the findings?
Diffuse thickening of the stomach wall, with a narrowed lumen and loss of the normal mucosal folds. This is known as 'linitis plastica' which refers to a 'leather bottle' type appearance of the stomach.
What is the diagnosis?
The appearance of the stomach is that of linitis plastica, which itself has many causes including gastric adenocarcinoma, metastases, lymphoma, inflammatory (eg. granulomatous disease), scarring & gastric amyloidosis.
What else should you look for when you see this appearance of the stomach?
As the most common cause of linitis plastica is gastric adenocarcinoma, it is important to look carefully for metastases eg. nodal involvement.
The stomach is diffusely thickened throughout and demonstrates loss of the normal mucosal fold pattern. This appearance is highly suggestive of adenocarcinoma of the stomach & biopsy is suggested.
There is no evidence of nodal involvement or other metastases within the section imaged.