Acute gastritis

Acute gastritis is a sudden, acute inflammation of the stomach’s lining, caused by a single factor of high intensity.
Depending on the clinical picture and the type of damage that the stomach’s lining has sustained, there are four types of acute gastritis.

Types of acute gastritis

• Catarrhal gastritis – is characterized by hypertrophy and inflammation of the stomach’s lining which leads to an excessive mucus secretion. This form may lead to erosion of the mucous layer, and if the erosions are multiple, it is called erosive gastritis. The most common cause of catarrhal gastritis is ingestion of strong alcohol and infectious diseases.
• Fibrinous gastritis – usually occurs as a result of ingesting strong acids, mercuric chloride, and during severe infectious diseases. Such gastritis can lead to substantial damage to the mucous layer; however, other layers of the stomach’s walls remain undamaged.
• Necrotic (corrosive) gastritis  – also usually occurs due to ingestion of strong acids, bases, and salts of heavy metals. This gastritis may lead to a full-thickness necrosis of a stomach’s wall, which may lead to perforation.
• Suppurative (phlegmonous) gastritis – most commonly occurs as a complication of a stomach ulcer or cancer, and a number of infectious diseases. It is characterized by a purulent inflammation which involves the full thickness of the gastric wall. It can present itself in a localized, diffuse, or mixed form. The most common form is a diffuse form, during which the gastric sub mucosa and then, as the disease progresses, all layers of the gastric wall are affected, which may lead to a gangrene of the whole stomach.