Often, a diagnosis can be made based on the patient's description of their symptoms, but other methods which may be used to verify gastritis include:

- Blood tests:

- Blood cell count

- Presence of "H. pylori"

- Liver, kidney, gallbladder, or pancreas functions

- Urinalysis

- Stool sample, to look for blood in the stool

- X-rays

- ECGs

- Endoscopy, to check for stomach lining inflammation and mucous erosion

- Stomach biopsy, to test for gastritis and other conditions

The diagnosis is mainly established based on the characteristic symptoms. Stomach pain is usually the first signal of a peptic ulcer. In some cases, doctors may treat ulcers without diagnosing them with specific tests and observe whether the symptoms resolve, thus indicating that their primary diagnosis was accurate.

More specifically, peptic ulcers erode the muscularis mucosae, at minimum reaching to the level of the submucosa (contrast with erosions, which do not involve the muscularis mucosae).

Confirmation of the diagnosis is made with the help of tests such as endoscopies or barium contrast x-rays. The tests are typically ordered if the symptoms do not resolve after a few weeks of treatment, or when they first appear in a person who is over age 45 or who has other symptoms such as weight loss, because stomach cancer can cause similar symptoms. Also, when severe ulcers resist treatment, particularly if a person has several ulcers or the ulcers are in unusual places, a doctor may suspect an underlying condition that causes the stomach to overproduce acid.

An esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD), a form of endoscopy, also known as a gastroscopy, is carried out on people in whom a peptic ulcer is suspected. By direct visual identification, the location and severity of an ulcer can be described. Moreover, if no ulcer is present, EGD can often provide an alternative diagnosis.

One of the reasons that blood tests are not reliable for accurate peptic ulcer diagnosis on their own is their inability to differentiate between past exposure to the bacteria and current infection. Additionally, a false negative result is possible with a blood test if the person has recently been taking certain drugs, such as antibiotics or proton-pump inhibitors.

The diagnosis of "Helicobacter pylori" can be made by:

- Urea breath test (noninvasive and does not require EGD);

- Direct culture from an EGD biopsy specimen; this is difficult to do, and can be expensive. Most labs are not set up to perform "H. pylori" cultures;

- Direct detection of urease activity in a biopsy specimen by rapid urease test;

- Measurement of antibody levels in the blood (does not require EGD). It is still somewhat controversial whether a positive antibody without EGD is enough to warrant eradication therapy;

- Stool antigen test;

- Histological examination and staining of an EGD biopsy.

The breath test uses radioactive carbon to detect H. pylori. To perform this exam the person will be asked to drink a tasteless liquid which contains the carbon as part of the substance that the bacteria breaks down. After an hour, the person will be asked to blow into a bag that is sealed. If the person is infected with H. pylori, the breath sample will contain radioactive carbon dioxide. This test provides the advantage of being able to monitor the response to treatment used to kill the bacteria.

The possibility of other causes of ulcers, notably malignancy (gastric cancer) needs to be kept in mind. This is especially true in ulcers of the "greater (large) curvature" of the stomach; most are also a consequence of chronic "H. pylori" infection.

If a peptic ulcer perforates, air will leak from the inside of the gastrointestinal tract (which always contains some air) to the peritoneal cavity (which normally never contains air). This leads to "free gas" within the peritoneal cavity. If the person stands erect, as when having a chest X-ray, the gas will float to a position underneath the diaphragm. Therefore, gas in the peritoneal cavity, shown on an erect chest X-ray or supine lateral abdominal X-ray, is an omen of perforated peptic ulcer disease.

A gastric peptic ulcer is a mucosal perforation which penetrates the muscularis mucosae and lamina propria, usually produced by acid-pepsin aggression. Ulcer margins are perpendicular and present chronic gastritis. During the active phase, the base of the ulcer shows 4 zones: fibrinoid necrosis, inflammatory exudate, granulation tissue and fibrous tissue. The fibrous base of the ulcer may contain vessels with thickened wall or with thrombosis.

Antacids are a common treatment for mild to medium gastritis. When antacids do not provide enough relief, medications such as H blockers and proton-pump inhibitors that help reduce the amount of acid are often prescribed.

Cytoprotective agents are designed to help protect the tissues that line the stomach and small intestine. They include the medications sucralfate and misoprostol. If NSAIDs are being taken regularly, one of these medications to protect the stomach may also be taken. Another cytoprotective agent is bismuth subsalicylate.

Several regimens are used to treat "H. pylori" infection. Most use a combination of two antibiotics and a proton pump inhibitor. Sometimes bismuth is added to the regimen.

Other radiological studies frequently used to assess patients with chronic stomach problems include a barium swallow, where a dye is consumed and pictures of the esophagus and stomach are obtained every few minutes. Other tests include a 24-hour pH study, CT scans or MRI.

treatment to be directed towards the findings in investigation if it is found to be AMAG immunosupressive drugs and chemotherapy with antineoplastic drugs.

In case of confirmed malignancy of stomach complete or step ladder or stage ladder resection of gastric or stomach to be done.

Since 1992, chronic gastritis lesions are classified according to the Sydney system.

This is the most common form of chronic gastritis. Involvement tends to occur in either an antral-predominant or multifocal atrophic pattern. "H. pylori" infection is also associated with development of peptic ulcer disease, gastric adenocarcinoma, and gastric mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphomas.

Atrophic gastritis is classified depending on the level of progress as "close type" or "open type". This classification was advocated by Takemoto and Kimura of Tokyo University at 1966.

People under 55 years without alarm symptoms can be treated without investigation. People over 55 years with recent onset dyspepsia or those with alarm symptoms should be urgently investigated by upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. This will rule out peptic ulcer disease, medication-related ulceration, malignancy and other rarer causes.

People under the age of 55 years with no alarm features do not need endoscopy but are considered for investigation for peptic ulcer disease caused by "Helicobacter pylori" infection. Investigation for "H. pylori" infection is usually performed when there is a moderate to high prevalence of this infection in the local community or the person with dyspepsia has other risk factors for "H. pylori" infection, related for example to ethnicity or immigration from a high-prevalence area. If infection is confirmed, it can usually be eradicated by medication.

Medication-related dyspepsia is usually related to NSAIDs and can be complicated by bleeding or ulceration with perforation of stomach wall.

There are many tools for investigating stomach problems. The most common is endoscopy. This procedure is performed as an outpatient and utilizes a small flexible camera. The procedure does require intravenous sedation and takes about 30–45 minutes; the endoscope is inserted via the mouth and can visualize the entire swallowing tube, stomach and duodenum. The procedure also allows the physician to obtain biopsy samples. In many cases of bleeding, the surgeon can use the endoscope to treat the source of bleeding with laser, clips or other injectable drugs.

The diagnosis of chronic pancreatitis is based on tests on pancreatic structure and function. Serum amylase and lipase may be moderately elevated in cases of chronic pancreatitis, amylase and lipase are nearly always found elevated in the acute condition. A secretin stimulation test is considered the best test for diagnosis of chronic pancreatitis. Other tests used to determine chronic pancreatitis are serum trypsinogen, computed tomography, ultrasound and biopsy.

When chronic pancreatitis is caused by genetic factors, elevations in ESR, IgG4, rheumatoid factor, ANA and anti-smooth muscle antibody may be detected.

Other possible causes (eg differential diagnosis) of large folds within the stomach include: Zollinger-Ellison syndrome, cancer, infection (cytomegalovirus/CMV, histoplasmosis, syphilis), and infiltrative disorders such as sarcoidosis.

The large folds of the stomach, as seen in Ménétrier disease, are easily detected by x-ray imaging following a barium meal or by endoscopic methods. Endoscopy with deep mucosal biopsy (and cytology) is required to establish the diagnosis and exclude other entities that may present similarly. A non-diagnostic biopsy may lead to a surgically obtained full-thickness biopsy to exclude malignancy. CMV and helicobacter pylori serology should be a part of the evaluation.

Twenty-four-hour pH monitoring reveals hypochlorhydria or achlorhydria, and a chromium-labelled albumin test reveals increased GI protein loss. Serum gastrin levels will be within normal limits.

The diagnosis of GERD is usually made when typical symptoms are present. Reflux can be present in people without symptoms and the diagnosis requires both symptoms or complications and reflux of stomach content.

Other investigations may include esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD). Barium swallow X-rays should not be used for diagnosis. Esophageal manometry is not recommended for use in diagnosis, being recommended only prior to surgery. Ambulatory esophageal pH monitoring may be useful in those who do not improve after PPIs and is not needed in those in whom Barrett's esophagus is seen. Investigation for H. pylori is not usually needed.

The current gold standard for diagnosis of GERD is esophageal pH monitoring. It is the most objective test to diagnose the reflux disease and allows monitoring GERD patients in their response to medical or surgical treatment. One practice for diagnosis of GERD is a short-term treatment with proton-pump inhibitors, with improvement in symptoms suggesting a positive diagnosis. Short-term treatment with proton-pump inhibitors may help predict abnormal 24-hr pH monitoring results among patients with symptoms suggestive of GERD.

After the initial diagnosis of Barrett's esophagus is rendered, affected persons undergo annual surveillance to detect changes that indicate higher risk to progression to cancer: development of epithelial dysplasia (or "intraepithelial neoplasia").

Considerable variability is seen in assessment for dysplasia among pathologists. Recently, gastroenterology and GI pathology societies have recommended that any diagnosis of high-grade dysplasia in Barrett be confirmed by at least two fellowship-trained GI pathologists prior to definitive treatment for patients. For more accuracy and reproductibility, it is also recommended to follow international classification system as the "Vienna classification" of gastrointestinal epithelial neoplasia (2000).

Screening endoscopy is recommended among males over the age of 60 who have reflux symptoms that are of long duration and not controllable with treatment. Among those not expected to live more than 5 years screening is not recommended.

Diseases of the hepatobiliary system affect the biliary tract (also known as the "biliary tree"), which secretes bile in order to aid digestion of fats. Diseases of the gallbladder and bile ducts are commonly diet-related, and may include the formation of gallstones that impact in the gallbladder (cholecystolithiasis) or in the common bile duct (choledocholithiasis).

Gallstones are a common cause of inflammation of the gallbladder, called cholecystitis. Inflammation of the biliary duct is called cholangitis, which may be associated with autoimmune disease, such as primary sclerosing cholangitis, or a result of bacterial infection, such as ascending cholangitis.

Disease of the biliary tree may cause pain in the upper right abdomen, particularly when pressed. Disease might be investigated using ultrasound or ERCP, and might be treated with drugs such as antibiotics or UDCA, or by the surgical removal of the gallbladder.

Endoscopy, the looking down into the stomach with a fibre-optic scope, is not routinely needed if the case is typical and responds to treatment. It is recommended when people either do not respond well to treatment or have alarm symptoms, including dysphagia, anemia, blood in the stool (detected chemically), wheezing, weight loss, or voice changes. Some physicians advocate either once-in-a-lifetime or 5- to 10-yearly endoscopy for people with longstanding GERD, to evaluate the possible presence of dysplasia or Barrett's esophagus.

Biopsies performed during gastroscopy may show:

- Edema and basal hyperplasia (nonspecific inflammatory changes)

- Lymphocytic inflammation (nonspecific)

- Neutrophilic inflammation (usually due to reflux or "Helicobacter" gastritis)

- Eosinophilic inflammation (usually due to reflux): The presence of intraepithelial eosinophils may suggest a diagnosis of eosinophilic esophagitis (EE) if eosinophils are present in high enough numbers. Less than 20 eosinophils per high-power microscopic field in the distal esophagus, in the presence of other histologic features of GERD, is more consistent with GERD than EE.

- Goblet cell intestinal metaplasia or Barrett's esophagus

- Elongation of the papillae

- Thinning of the squamous cell layer

- Dysplasia

- Carcinoma

Reflux changes may not be erosive in nature, leading to "nonerosive reflux disease".

Diagnosis may be simple in cases where the patient's signs and symptoms are idiopathic to a specific cause. However this is generally not the case, considering that many pathogens which cause enteritis may exhibit the similar symptoms, especially early in the disease. In particular, "campylobacter, shigella, salmonella" and many other bacteria induce acute self-limited colitis, an inflammation of the lining of the colon which appears similar under the microscope.

A medical history, physical examination and tests such as blood counts, stool cultures, CT scans, MRIs, PCRs, colonoscopies and upper endoscopies may be used in order to perform a differential diagnosis. A biopsy may be required to obtain a sample for histopathology.

Pancreatic diseases that affect digestion refers to disorders affecting the exocrine pancreas, which is a part of the pancreas involved in digestion.

One of the most common conditions of the exocrine pancreas is acute pancreatitis, which in the majority of cases relates to gallstones that have impacted in the pancreatic part of the biliary tree, or due to acute or chronic alcohol abuse or as a side-effect of ERCP. Other forms of pancreatitis include chronic and hereditary forms. Chronic pancreatitis may predispose to pancreatic cancer and is strongly linked to alcohol use. Other rarer diseases affecting the pancreas may include pancreatic pseudocysts, exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, and pancreatic fistulas.

Pancreatic disease may present with or without symptoms. When symptoms occur, such as in acute pancreatitis, a person may suffer from acute-onset, severe mid-abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. In severe cases, pancreatitis may lead to rapid blood loss and systemic inflammatory response syndrome. When the pancreas is unable to secrete digestive enzymes, such as with a pancreatic cancer occluding the pancreatic duct, result in jaundice. Pancreatic disease might be investigated using abdominal x-rays, MRCP or ERCP, CT scans, and through blood tests such as measurement of the amylase and lipase enzymes.

For practical purposes, gastric pH an endoscopy should be done in someone with suspected achlorhydria. Older testing methods using fluid aspiration through a nasogastric tube can be done, but these procedures can cause significant discomfort and are less efficient ways to obtain a diagnosis.

A complete 24-hour profile of gastric acid secretion is best obtained during an esophageal pH monitoring study.

Achlorhydria may also be documented by measurements of extremely low levels of pepsinogen A (PgA) () in blood serum. The diagnosis may be supported by high serum gastrin levels ().

The "Heidelberg test" is an alternative way to measure stomach acid and diagnose hypochlorhydria/achlorhydria.

A check can exclude deficiencies in iron, calcium, prothrombin time, vitamin B-12, vitamin D, and thiamine. Complete blood count with indices and peripheral smears can be examined to exclude anemia. Elevation of serum folate is suggestive of small bowel bacterial overgrowth. Bacterial folate can be absorbed into the circulation.

Once achlorhydria is confirmed, a hydrogen breath test can check for bacterial overgrowth.

Stress ulcer is suspected when there is upper gastrointestinal bleeding in the appropriate clinical setting, for example, when there is upper gastrointestinal bleeding in elderly patients in a surgical intensive care unit (ICU) with heart and lung disease, or when there is upper gastrointestinal bleeding in patients in a medical ICU who require respirators.

Stress ulcer can be diagnosed after the initial management of gastrointestinal bleeding, the diagnosis can be confirmed by upper GI endoscopy.

The role of "Helicobacter pylori" in functional dyspepsia is controversial, and no clear causal relationship has been established. This is true for both the symptom profile and pathophysiology of functional dyspepsia. Although some epidemiologic studies have suggested an association between "H. pylori" infection and functional dyspepsia, others have not. The discrepancy may stem in part from differences in methodology and lack of adequate consideration of confounding factors such as past history of peptic ulcer disease and socioeconomic status. Controlled trials disagree about whether or not "H. pylori" eradication is beneficial in functional dyspepsia, with roughly half of the trials showing improvement and the other half no improvement. In a recent multicenter U.S. trial that randomized 240 patients to treatment or placebo, and followed patients for 12 months, 28% of treated patients versus 23% of those receiving placebo reported relief of symptoms at the 12-month follow-up. Similarly, recent European trials have not shown significant differences in symptoms after "H. pylori" eradication as compared with controls. Systematic reviews of eradication have been conducted, with varying results. A systematic review in the Annals of Internal Medicine suggested no statistically significant effect, with an odds ratio (OR) for treatment success versus control of 1.29 (95% CI, 0.89–1.89; P = 0.18). Still, no effect was seen after adjusting for heterogeneity and for cure of "H. pylori". In contrast, a Cochrane review found a small but statistically significant effect in curing symptoms ("H. pylori" cure vs placebo, 36% vs 30%, respectively).

GAVE is usually diagnosed definitively by means of an endoscopic biopsy. The tell-tale watermelon stripes show up during the endoscopy.

Surgical exploration of the abdomen may be needed to diagnose some cases, especially if the liver or other organs are involved.

The average age of onset is 40 to 60 years, and men are affected more often than women. Adults with Ménétrier disease have a higher risk of developing gastric adenocarcinoma.