Peptic ulcer

What it means

The term peptic ulcer refers to acid peptic injury of the digestive tract, resulting in mucosal break reaching the submucosa. Peptic ulcers are usually located in the stomach or proximal duodenum, but they can also be found in the esophagus or Meckel's diverticulum. Infection with Helicobacter pylori and the use of non steroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or aspirin are the main risk factors of both gastric and duodenal peptic ulcers.

Symptoms of peptic ulcer disease have limited predictive value because they are non-specific. Patients with duodenal ulcers typically feel hungry or have nocturnal abdominal pain. By contrast, patients with gastric ulcers have postprandial abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and weight loss. Patients with untreated peptic ulcer disease typically have relapsing symptoms because of spontaneous healing and relapse while the causal factor (eg, H pylori infection or NSAID use) persists.

In everyday care

Most people with this sign do not have a rare disease — it appears in common conditions far more often. These general reference pages cover the same topic:

Rare diseases that can present with this11

The range is how often this sign appears among people diagnosed with each disease — it is not a probability of having any of them. Many of these signs also occur in common, non-rare conditions. A sign on this page is a conversation to have with a clinician, not a conclusion.

Part of the broader category