A Cushing ulcer is a gastric ulcer produced by elevated intracranial pressure

Intracranial pressure

Intracranial pressure is the pressure inside the skull and thus in the brain tissue and cerebrospinal fluid . The body has various mechanisms by which it keeps the ICP stable, with CSF pressures varying by about 1 mmHg in normal adults through shifts in production and absorption of CSF...

. It is also called von Rokitansky

Carl Freiherr von Rokitansky

Baron Carl von Rokitansky , was a Bohemian physician, pathologist, humanist philosopher and liberal politician.-Medical career:...

-Cushing

Harvey Cushing

Harvey Williams Cushing, M.D. , was an American neurosurgeon and a pioneer of brain surgery, and the first to describe Cushing's syndrome...

 syndrome. Apart from in the stomach

Stomach

The stomach is a muscular, hollow, dilated part of the alimentary canal which functions as an important organ of the digestive tract in some animals, including vertebrates, echinoderms, insects , and molluscs. It is involved in the second phase of digestion, following mastication .The stomach is...

, it may also develop in the proximal part of the duodenum and the distal esophagus.

It is named for Harvey Cushing

Harvey Cushing

Harvey Williams Cushing, M.D. , was an American neurosurgeon and a pioneer of brain surgery, and the first to describe Cushing's syndrome...

.

Causes

One possible explanation for the development of Cushing ulcers is the stimulation of vagal nuclei due to the increased intracranial pressure which leads to increased secretion of gastric acid. The vagus nerve releases acetylcholine, which stimulates the M3 receptor on the parietal cell and activates the second messenger to stimulate IP3/Ca2+ to stimulate the Hydrogen/Potassium ATPase pump which will increase gastric acid production.

May also be a direct result of Cushing reaction.