Partial gastrectomy was performed in 23 patients for different reasons, and the specimens recovered were investigated histologically. Localization and size of inflammatory and atrophic changes were looked for especially. Inflammatory lesions of the fundus area are distributed primarily as spots and do not spread continuously; they extend from the aboral gastric region to the upper parts of the stomach. These alterations start as small and spot-like lesions, increase in size and join neighbouring lesions to form larger inflammatory areas. Atrophic alterations of the mucosa generally develop in the same way as inflammatory lesions occurring most frequently in the antral zone and in the adjacent areas of the fundus as well; however patterns of distribution of inflammatory and atrophic changes do not seem to correlate well in the individual case.