Images of ulcers

These two pictures are actual images of ulcers photographed during endoscopy. During an upper GI endoscopy, a physician passes a thin tube (an endoscope) with fiberoptic light guides and a video camera chip at the end through the patient's mouth and down into the stomach and beginning of the small intestine (duodenum). The stomach and duodenum can be inspected, biopsies can be taken, and therapeutic instruments can be passed through the endoscope to stop bleeding.

This first image is a view of a duodenal ulcer. The ulcer is the white, depressed patch. The red spot on the right side of the white patch is a so-called "visible vessel." It is a blood vessel that has recently bled and was the cause of this patient's hospitalization.

Duodenal ulcer with visible vessel

This next image is a gastric or stomach ulcer:

Gastric ulcer

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