Summary
Russell body gastritis is caused by an accumulation of plasma cells
within the gastric mucosa. These plasma cells are characterized by
eosinophilic cytoplasmic inclusions of immunoglobulin which are called
“Russell bodies”. We report a case of Russell body gastritis in a
28-year-old male who presented with abdominal pain and rectal
bleeding. Endoscopy showed erosions with edema and vascular congestion
in the gastric body and antrum. The biopsy showed chronic gastritis
with plasma cell infiltration of the lamina propria. Many plasma cells
contained cytoplasmic Russell bodies which stained positive for CD138,
CD79a, Kappa and lambda light chains. The Russell bodies were negative
for pancytokeratin, excluding signet ring cell carcinoma. Russell body
gastritis is an uncommon, benign reactive condition.