<unk>  <unk>  is an uncommon cause of chronic gastrointestinal bleeding or iron deficiency anemia. The condition is associated with dilated small blood vessels in the pyloric antrum, which is a distal part of the stomach. The dilated vessels result in intestinal bleeding. It is also called watermelon stomach because streaky long red areas that are present in the stomach may resemble the markings on watermelon. The condition was first discovered in 1952, and reported in the literature in 1953. Watermelon disease was first diagnosed by Wheeler et al. in 1979, and definitively described in four living patients by Jabbari et al. only in 1984. As of 2011, the cause and pathogenesis are still not known. However, there are several competing hypotheses as to various causes.
Gastric antral vascular ectasia
Esophageal intramural pseudodiverticulosis
Foreign body in alimentary tract
Intestinal neuronal dysplasia
Autoimmune gastrointestinal dysmotility
Rectal foreign body
Multifocal stenosing ulceration of the small intestine
Retained antrum syndrome