Most Stomach Ulcers Are Caused by a Bacterium
An ulcer is an open sore. The discovery that bacteria cause stomach ulcers overturned decades of medical belief.
An ulcer is an open sore on the skin or on an internal surface that fails to heal. Medicine was confidently wrong about stomach ulcers for most of the twentieth century, blaming stress and spicy food. Barry Marshall and Robin Warren showed in 1984 that *Helicobacter pylori* was responsible, and Marshall drank a culture of the bacterium himself to prove it. They received the Nobel Prize in 2005. Most stomach ulcers are now cured with antibiotics.
- An open sore. *A stomach ulcer.*
- Mouth ulcer. *A painful mouth ulcer.*
- Helicobacter pylori — the bacterium. *H. pylori.*
- Ulcerate — to form an ulcer. *Ulcerated.*
- Latin — *ulcus*, a sore. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | ulcer | An ulcer. |
| Plural | ulcers | Ulcers. |
| Verb | ulcerate | Ulcerate. |
| Adjective | ulcerous | Ulcerous. |
| Latin | ulcus | A sore. |
- He was treated for a stomach ulcer.Medicine.
- H. pylori was identified in 1984.Discovery.
- Antibiotics now cure most cases.Treatment.
The H. pylori discovery
- Doctors long blamed stress and diet for stomach ulcers
- Warren observed bacteria in stomach biopsies in 1979
- Marshall cultured them and linked them to ulcers
- He drank a culture himself and developed gastritis
- The Nobel Prize followed in 2005
Latin *ulcus*, a sore or ulcer, related to Greek *helkos*, a wound.
Do stress and spicy food cause ulcers?
Not usually. Most peptic ulcers are caused by Helicobacter pylori bacteria or by long-term use of anti-inflammatory drugs.
Did a doctor really infect himself?
Yes. Barry Marshall drank a culture of H. pylori to demonstrate that it caused gastritis, part of the work that won the 2005 Nobel Prize.