The authors report a study of thirty patients treated surgically and thirty patients treated medically for duodenal ulcer. Neither group had psychotherapy. Those treated surgically who lost their ulcer symptoms tended to develop other symptoms. Those treated medically had persistent ulcer symptoms but did not tend to develop new symptoms. This fact perhaps implies that duodenal ulcer is an adaptive response. The findings suggest that successful removal of duodenal ulcer symptoms by gastrectomy may result in the development of new symptoms unless associated psychic conflicts are resolved.