Abstract: Objective To investigate the distribution patterns of neuron-specific enolase (NSE) and synaptophysin (SYN) during
the development of human fetal stomach. Methods Sixteen specimens of human fetal (gestational age 2 to 4 months) gastric
tissues were examined with immunohistochemistry for detecting the distribution of NSE and SYN expressions in the gastric
walls. Results During the second to fourth gestational months, NSE was strongly expressed in the nerve cells and nerve fibers
of the myenteric nerve plexus of human fetal stomach. As the gestational age increased, the numbers of NSE positive cells and
fibers increased gradually in the gastric submucosa, but NSE was negative in the gastric mucosa. At the second gestational
month, SYN expression was negative in the mucosa but positive in the myenteric nerve plexus; during the third to fourth
months, positive SYN expression was found in the mucosa, submucosa and myenteric nerve plexus of the embryonic gastric
walls and its expression intensity increased with the gestational age. Conclusion SYN and NSE are both involved in the
regulation of the nervous system in the gastric wall but their expressions and distributions follow different patterns during the
development of human fetal stomach.