Although the clinical diagnosis of syphilis of the stomach is made frequently and such cases are reported in large numbers, histologically proved instances of the disease are rare. A case seen recently at the University of Virginia Hospital seems to present sufficient histologic evidence of syphilis of the stomach to warrant a report and a brief review of the stricter criteria demanded for the diagnosis.
An idea of the apparent rarity of proved instances of the disease may be gained from Hartwell.1 In 1925, he reviewed more than 200 cases that had been recorded previously in the literature as syphilis of the stomach, and he concluded that in all but 27 of these the evidence presented was insufficient to prove the diagnosis. Hartwell's review of the subject was comprehensive and scientifically critical. He stated that Andral2 had reported 2 cases of supposed syphilis of the stomach as early