Which finding is associated with a duodenal ulcer?

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Pain relief after eating is the classic feature of a duodenal ulcer. When the stomach is empty, acid irritates the duodenal mucosa and causes pain; eating buffers that acid and raises the pH around the duodenum, often relieving the pain. This pain pattern—epigastric discomfort occurring hours after meals or at night and improving with food—is characteristic, helping differentiate it from gastric ulcers, where eating tends to worsen pain due to direct stomach mucosa irritation. Bleeding signs like melena or coffee-ground emesis can occur with ulcers but reflect a complication rather than the typical presentation, and nausea with pain that worsens after meals is more typical of gastric ulcers.