The authors submit data on 12 patients with infrequent and rare sources of haemorrhage from the upper digestive tract, emphasize diagnostic difficulties, frequent relapses of haemorrhage and frequent operations associated with it. They draw attention to the high mortality which is three times higher than in "common" sources of haemorrhage and the large consumption of blood and blood derivatives. They do not doubt the fundamental role of endoscopy in the diagnostic process and finally provide evidence of the difficult leading position of the surgeon in the treatment of these patients.