The diagnosis of chronic gastritis is done by endoscopy; the patient is referred to the gastroscopy. Gastroscopy provides visualization of the stomach lining, so the doctor describes in the findings whether and in what form and extent some part of the gastric mucosa is macroscopically changed (if there is inflammatory redness, are there visible damage-erosion, hemorrhage, ulcers, growths, etc.).
In addition, during the endoscopic examination, due to the precise definition of the diagnosis and planning of treatment, samples of tissue are taken for histological diagnosis. Pathologist after specific treatment of so obtained samples of stomach mucosa sets the final diagnosis. Often patients come to the gastroenterologist with the findings of previously done abdominal ultrasound or X-ray of stomach and diagnosis of gastritis, but those results, although they help eliminate other possible cause of the problems, are not diagnostic for chronic gastritis. Patients often avoid the gastroscopy, because of the discomfort, but it is crucial because of taking the findings for histological analysis, because in patients with minimal pain for an extended time, the histological findings could be serious
