Bücher der Reihe Topics in Gastroenterology

In their second year in medical school, students begin to learn about the differences between "disease" and "illness." There is, alas, little mention of functional bowel disease or of the irritable or spastic colon, for that is not easy to show on hard copy.

The functional and organic alterations of the colon constitute one of the leading reasons why patients consult gastroenterologists.

"You are what you eat" meant a lot to primitive tribes whose new leader had to eat part of his predecessor, and giving diets brought out the priest in the physician even if he or she had heard that "nothing that enters into a man defiles a man.

Such compulsive dedication has now made it possible for the prac ticing phYSician, gastroenterologist, or house officer, interested in preparing for board examinations or simply browsing in the field, to have at his fingertips a series of definitions and to put in his pocket the key facts for diagnosis and therapy.

A fine team of state-of-the-art researcher/clinicians who know their fields, have contributed to the advancement of knowledge, and are in a position to judge what is truly important have here pooled their thoughts in a series of chapters on the cutting edges of gastroenterology.

Presenting patient- and problem-oriented review articles, this series is designed to keep the internist, general surgeon, and specialist in gastroenterology and hepatology abreast of the latest advances in the field.

A physician with a broad consultative practice, Dr. Floch combines his clinical experience with a zeal for exploring what has been written by others.