Distribution of antral G‐cells in relation to the parietal cells of the stomach and anatomical boundaries

Abstract Previous studies involving the mapping of antral G‐cells have had little significance because the techniques involved have been tedious, inaccurate, and have concentrated on pathological material, without establishing normal antral anatomy or physiology. We describe a new, reproducible technique for the accurate mapping of antral G‐cells, which shows their relationship to the parietal cell mass and the macroscopic antrum‐corpus boundary. The antrum of 20 normal, “fresh,” postmortem human stomachs was examined by cutting 4–8 longitudinal strips. The macroscopic antrum‐corpus boundary (nerve of Latarjet) was identified. Serial section were stained for parietal and G‐cells to define the microscopic antrum‐corpus boundary. In 4 stomachs, the parietal cells extended to the pylorus. In these, the G‐cells were sparse and the antrum as defined by the G‐cells was significantly smaller ( P <0.01). The G‐cell boundary correlated better with the macroscopic boundary than did the parietal cell boundary. This study provides a basis for future quantitative studies on parietal and G‐cells in the antrum which should be defined according to both G‐cells and parietal cells. Patients with “acid antra” appear to have reduced number of antral G‐cells and this may have practical significance for patients undergoing duodenal ulcer surgery.