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Gastroenterology (MeSH
Mesh

Mesh consists of semi-permeable barrier made of connected strands of metal, fiber, or other flexible/ductile material. Mesh is similar to spider web or Net in that it has many attached or woven strands....
 heading) is the branch of medicine
Medicine

Medicine is the art and science of healing. It encompasses a range of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
 whereby the digestive system and its disorders are studied. Etymologically
Etymology

Etymology is the study of the roots and history of words; and how their form and meaning have changed over time.In languages with a long detailed history, etymology makes use of philology, the study of how words change from culture to culture over time....
, the name is a combination of three Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek

Ancient Greek is the historical stage in the development of the Greek language spanning across the Archaic Greece , Classical Greece , and Hellenistic civilization periods of ancient Greece and the classical antiquity....
 words gastros (stomach
Stomach

In most mammals, the stomach is a hollow muscular organ of the gastrointestinal tract involved in the second phase of digestion, following mastication....
), enteron (intestine
Intestine

In anatomy, the intestine is the segment of the Gastrointestinal tract extending from the stomach to the anus and, in humans and other mammals, consists of two segments, the small intestine and the large intestine....
), and logos
Logos

is an important term in philosophy, analytical psychology, rhetoric and religion.Heraclitus established the term in Western philosophy as meaning both the source and fundamental order of the cosmos....
 (reason
Reason

Reason may refer to Mind#Mental faculties that consciously create explanations in order to judge, decide, solve problems, generalize, and give examples, among other activities....
).

Diseases affecting the gastrointestinal tract
Gastrointestinal tract

The digestive tract is the system of Organ s within multicellular animals that takes in food, digestion it to extract energy and nutrients, and expels the remaining waste....
, which includes the organs
Organ (anatomy)

In biology, an organ is a biological tissue that performs a specific function or group of functions. Usually there is a main tissue and sporadic tissues....
 from mouth
Mouth

The mouth, buccal cavity, or oral cavity is the first portion of the alimentary canal that receives food and begins digestion by mechanically breaking up the solid food particles into smaller pieces and mixing them with saliva....
 to anus
Anus

The anus is an opening at the opposite end of an animal's digestive tract from the mouth. Its function is to expel feces, unwanted semi-solid matter produced during digestion, which, depending on the type of animal, may be one or more of: matter which the animal cannot digest, such as coprolite ; food material after all the nutrients have b...
, along the alimentary canal, are the focus of this specialty. Physicians practicing in this field of medicine are called gastroenterologists.






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Encyclopedia


Gastroenterology (MeSH
Mesh

Mesh consists of semi-permeable barrier made of connected strands of metal, fiber, or other flexible/ductile material. Mesh is similar to spider web or Net in that it has many attached or woven strands....
 heading) is the branch of medicine
Medicine

Medicine is the art and science of healing. It encompasses a range of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
 whereby the digestive system and its disorders are studied. Etymologically
Etymology

Etymology is the study of the roots and history of words; and how their form and meaning have changed over time.In languages with a long detailed history, etymology makes use of philology, the study of how words change from culture to culture over time....
, the name is a combination of three Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek

Ancient Greek is the historical stage in the development of the Greek language spanning across the Archaic Greece , Classical Greece , and Hellenistic civilization periods of ancient Greece and the classical antiquity....
 words gastros (stomach
Stomach

In most mammals, the stomach is a hollow muscular organ of the gastrointestinal tract involved in the second phase of digestion, following mastication....
), enteron (intestine
Intestine

In anatomy, the intestine is the segment of the Gastrointestinal tract extending from the stomach to the anus and, in humans and other mammals, consists of two segments, the small intestine and the large intestine....
), and logos
Logos

is an important term in philosophy, analytical psychology, rhetoric and religion.Heraclitus established the term in Western philosophy as meaning both the source and fundamental order of the cosmos....
 (reason
Reason

Reason may refer to Mind#Mental faculties that consciously create explanations in order to judge, decide, solve problems, generalize, and give examples, among other activities....
).

Diseases affecting the gastrointestinal tract
Gastrointestinal tract

The digestive tract is the system of Organ s within multicellular animals that takes in food, digestion it to extract energy and nutrients, and expels the remaining waste....
, which includes the organs
Organ (anatomy)

In biology, an organ is a biological tissue that performs a specific function or group of functions. Usually there is a main tissue and sporadic tissues....
 from mouth
Mouth

The mouth, buccal cavity, or oral cavity is the first portion of the alimentary canal that receives food and begins digestion by mechanically breaking up the solid food particles into smaller pieces and mixing them with saliva....
 to anus
Anus

The anus is an opening at the opposite end of an animal's digestive tract from the mouth. Its function is to expel feces, unwanted semi-solid matter produced during digestion, which, depending on the type of animal, may be one or more of: matter which the animal cannot digest, such as coprolite ; food material after all the nutrients have b...
, along the alimentary canal, are the focus of this specialty. Physicians practicing in this field of medicine are called gastroenterologists. Important advances have been made in the last fifty years, contributing to rapid expansion of its scope.

Hepatology
Hepatology

Hepatology is the branch of medicine that incorporates study of liver, gallbladder, biliary tree and pancreas as well as management of their disorders....
, or hepatobiliary medicine, encompasses the study of the liver
Liver

The liver is a vital organ present in vertebrates and some other animals; it has a wide range of functions, a few of which are detoxification, protein synthesis, and production of biochemicals necessary for digestion....
, pancreas
Pancreas

The pancreas is a gland Organ in the digestive system and endocrine system of vertebrates. It is both an endocrine gland , as well as an exocrine gland, secreting pancreatic juice containing Digestion enzymes that pass to the small intestine....
, and biliary tree
Biliary tree

The biliary tract is the common anatomy term for the path by which bile is secreted by the liver on its way to the duodenum, or small intestine, of most members of the mammal family....
 and is traditionally considered a sub-specialty.

History



Citing from Egyptian
Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt was an Ancient history civilization in eastern North Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile in what is now the modern nation of Egypt....
 papyri
Papyrus

Papyrus is a thick paper material produced from the pith of the papyrus plant, Cyperus papyrus, a wetland Cyperaceae that was once abundant in the Nile Delta of Egypt....
, Nunn identified significant knowledge of gastrointestinal diseases among practising physicians during the periods of the pharaoh
Pharaoh

Pharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. In antiquity this title began to be used for the ruler who was the religious and political leader of united ancient Egypt, only during the New Kingdom, specifically, during the middle of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt....
s. Irynakhty, of the tenth dynasty, c. 2125 B.C., was a court physician
Physician

A physician, medical practitioner, doctor of medicine, or medical doctor practices medicine, and is concerned with maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease and injury....
 specialising in gastroenterology and proctology
Proctology

Proctology is a field in medicine, dealing with disorders of the rectum or anus. The word Proctology is derived from the Greek language words Proktos, meaning anus or hindparts, and Logos meaning science or study....
.

Among ancient Greeks
Greeks

The Greeks , also known as Hellenes, are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighbouring regions, who can also be found in Greek diaspora communities around the world....
, Hippocrates
Hippocrates

Hippocrates of Cos II or Hippokrates of Kos - ancient Greek: ; Hippokr?tes was an Ancient Greece physician of the Age of Pericles, and was considered one of the most outstanding figures in the history of medicine....
 attributed digestion
Digestion

Digestion is the mechanical and chemical breaking down of food into smaller components, to a form that can be Absorption, for instance, by a blood stream....
 to concoction. Galen
Galen

Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus , better known as Galen of Pergamum , was a prominent Ancient Rome physician and philosopher of Greek origin, and probably the most accomplished medical researcher of the Roman period....
's concept of the stomach
Stomach

In most mammals, the stomach is a hollow muscular organ of the gastrointestinal tract involved in the second phase of digestion, following mastication....
 having four faculties was widely accepted up to modernity in the seventeenth century.

Eighteenth century:
  • Italian
    Italy

    Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
     Lazzaro Spallanzani
    Lazzaro Spallanzani

    Lazzaro Spallanzani was an Italian biologist and physiologist who made important contributions to the experimental study of bodily functions and animal reproduction, and whose research of biogenesis paved the way for the investigations of Louis Pasteur....
     (1729–99) was among early physician
    Physician

    A physician, medical practitioner, doctor of medicine, or medical doctor practices medicine, and is concerned with maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease and injury....
    s to disregard Galen's theories, and in 1780 he gave experimental proof on the action of gastric juice on foodstuffs.
  • In 1767, German
    Germany

    Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
     Johann von Zimmermann
    Johann Georg Ritter von Zimmermann

    Johann Georg Ritter von Zimmermann , Switzerland philosophy writer and physician, was born at Brugg, in the canton of Aargau.He studied at university of G?ttingen, where he took the degree of doctor of medicine, and he established his reputation by the dissertation, De irritabilitate ....
     wrote an important work on dysentery
    Dysentery

    Dysentery is a disorder of the digestive system that results in severe diarrhea containing mucus and/or blood in the feces. If untreated, Dysentery can be fatal....
    .
  • In 1777, Maximilian Stoll
    Maximilian Stoll

    Maximilian Stoll was an Austrian physician who was a native of Erzingen, Baden-W?rttemberg. Stoll originally trained as a theologian, but switched to medicine, and received his degree in 1776....
     of Vienna
    Vienna

    Vienna is the Capital of Republic of Austria and also one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.7 million...
     described cancer of the gallbladder
    Gallbladder

    The gallbladder is a small non-vital Organ which aids in the digestive process and concentrates bile produced in the liver....
    .


Nineteenth century:
  • In 1805, Philip Bozzini made the first attempt to observe inside the living human body using a tube he named Lichtleiter (light guiding instrument) to examine the urinary tract, the rectum
    Rectum

    The rectum is the final straight portion of the large intestine in some mammals, and the Gastrointestinal tract in others, terminating in the anus....
    , and the pharynx
    Pharynx

    FunctionsThe pharynx is part of the digestive system and respiratory system of many organisms.Because both food and Earth's atmosphere pass through the pharynx, a flap of connective tissue called the epiglottis closes over the trachea when food is swallowed to prevent choking or Pulmonary aspiration....
    . This is the earliest description of endoscopy
    Endoscopy

    Endoscopy means looking inside and typically refers to looking inside the body for medical reasons using an instrument called an endoscope....
    .
  • Charles Emile Troisier
    Charles Emile Troisier

    Charles Emile Troisier was a French doctor.The following are named for him:* Troisier's sign* Troisier-Hanot-Chauffard syndrome...
     described enlargement of lymph node
    Lymph node

    A Lymph node is an organ consisting of many types of cells, and is a part of the lymphatic system. Lymph nodes are found all through the body, and act as filters or traps for foreign particles....
    s in abdominal cancer.
  • In 1823, William Prout
    William Prout

    William Prout Fellow of the Royal Society was an England chemist, physician, and natural theologian. He is remembered today mainly for what is called Prout's hypothesis....
     discovered that stomach
    Stomach

    In most mammals, the stomach is a hollow muscular organ of the gastrointestinal tract involved in the second phase of digestion, following mastication....
     juices contain hydrochloric acid
    Hydrochloric acid

    Hydrochloric acid is the solution of hydrogen chloride in water. It is a highly corrosive, strong acid mineral acid and has major industrial uses....
    .
  • In 1868, Adolf Kussmaul, a well-known German physician, developed the gastroscope. He perfected the technique on a sword swallower
    Sword swallowing

    Sword swallowing is a performance art, in which the performer inserts a sword into his or her mouth and down the esophagus towards the stomach....
    .
  • In 1871, at the society of physicians in Vienna, Carl Stoerk
    Karl Stoerk

    Karl Stoerk ; was an Austrian laryngology who was a native of Ofen. He studied medicine at the Universities of University of Prague and University of Vienna, and received his doctorate in 1858....
     demonstrated an esophagoscope made of two telescopic metal tubes, initially devised by Waldenburg in 1870.
  • In 1876, Karl Wilhelm von Kupffer
    Karl Wilhelm von Kupffer

    Karl Wilhelm von Kupffer was a German anatomist who discovered Kupffer cell macrophage cells that bear his name.The eldest son of pastor Karl Hermann Kupffer , Kupffer received his medical doctorate from the University of Tartu in 1854....
     described the properties of some liver cells now called Kupffer cell
    Kupffer cell

    Kupffer cells, also known as Browicz-Kupffer cells, are specialized macrophages located in the liver that form part of the reticuloendothelial system ....
    .
  • In 1883, Hugo Kronecker
    Hugo Kronecker

    File:Kronecker Hugo.jpgKarl Hugo Kronecker was a Germany physiologist from Liegnitz, Prussian Silesia. He was the brother of Leopold Kronecker....
     and Samuel James Meltzer
    Samuel James Meltzer

    Samuel James Meltzer was an United states Physiology, born in Russia. He was educated at University of K?nigsberg, Prussia, studied philosophy at and medicine at the Humboldt University of Berlin ; and in the following year he emigrated to the United States, where he practiced his profession in New York City, serving as consulting physician...
     studied oesophageal manometry in humans.
Twentieth century:
  • In 1915, Jesse McClendon
    Jesse Francis McClendon

    Jesse Francis McClendon was an United States chemist, zoologists and physiologist. He is remembered today mainly for the first pH measurement of human stomach in situ....
     tested acidity
    Gastric acid

    Gastric acid is one of the main secretions of the stomach, together with several enzymes and intrinsic factor. Chemically it is an acid solution with a pH of 1 to 2 in the stomach lumen , consisting mainly of hydrochloric acid , and large quantities of potassium chloride and sodium chloride ....
     of human stomach in situ
    In situ

    In situ is a Latin phrase meaning in the place. It is used in many different contexts....
    .
  • In 1921-22, Walter Alvarez
    Walter C. Alvarez

    Walter Clement Alvarez was an United States doctor of Spanish American descent. He authored several dozen books on medicine, and wrote Introductions and Forewords for many others....
     did the first electrogastrography
    Electrogastrogram

    An electrogastrogram is a graphic produced by an electrogastrograph, which records the electrical signals that travel through the stomach muscles and control the muscles' contractions....
     research.
  • Rudolph Schindler
    Rudolph Schindler

    Rudolph Schindler can refer to:* Rudolph Schindler * Rudolph Schindler ...
     described many important diseases involving the human digestive system during World War I
    World War I

    World War I, or the First World War , was a global military conflict which involved the Great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War I and the Central Powers....
     in his illustrated textbook and is portrayed by some as the "father of gastroscopy". He and Georg Wolf developed a semiflexible gastroscope in 1932.
  • In 1932, Burrill Bernard Crohn
    Burrill Bernard Crohn

    Burrill Bernard Crohn was a Jewish-American gastroenterologist and one of the first to describe the disease of which he is the namesake, Crohn's disease....
     described Crohn's disease
    Crohn's disease

    Crohn's disease is an inflammatory disease which may affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract from mouth to anus, causing a wide variety of symptoms....
    .
  • In 1957, Basil Hirschowitz
    Basil Hirschowitz

    Basil Isaac Hirschowitz is an academic gastroenterology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham best known in the field for having invented an improved optical Fiber which allowed the creation of a useful flexible endoscope....
     introduced the first prototype of a fibreoptic gastroscope.


Twenty-first century:
  • In 2005, Barry Marshall
    Barry Marshall

    Barry James Marshall, Order of Australia, Fellow of the Royal Society, Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science is an Australian physician, Nobel Prize laureate in Physiology or Medicine, and Professor of Clinical Microbiology at the University of Western Australia....
     and Robin Warren
    Robin Warren

    Dr. John Robin Warren Order of Australia is an Australian pathologist, Nobel Laureate and researcher who is credited with the 1979 re-discovery of the bacterium Helicobacter pylori....
     of Australia were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
    Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

    The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded once a year by the Swedish Karolinska Institutet. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outstanding contributions in Nobel Prize in Physics, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and Physiology or Medic...
     for their discovery of Helicobacter pylori
    Helicobacter pylori

    Helicobacter pylori is a Gram-negative, microaerophile bacterium that inhabits various areas of the stomach and duodenum. It causes a chronic low-level inflammation of the stomach lining and is strongly linked to the development of duodenal and gastric peptic ulcers and stomach cancer bacteria....
     (1982/1983) and its role in peptic ulcer disease. James Leavitt assisted in their research, but the Nobel Prize is not awarded posthumously so he was not included in the award.


Disease classification


1. International Classification of Disease(ICD
ICD

The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems provides codes to classify diseases and a wide variety of signs, symptoms, abnormal findings,...
 2007)/WHO classification:
  • Chapter XI,Diseases of the digestive system,(K00-K93)
2. MeSH
Mesh

Mesh consists of semi-permeable barrier made of connected strands of metal, fiber, or other flexible/ductile material. Mesh is similar to spider web or Net in that it has many attached or woven strands....
 subject Heading:
  • Gastroenterology (G02.403.776.409.405)
  • Gastroenterological diseases(C06.405)
3. National Library of Medicine Catalogue(NLM classification 2006):
  • Digestive system(W1)


Gastroenterological societies

  • World Gastroenterology Organisation
    World Gastroenterology Organisation

    About the WGOThe World Gastroenterology Organisation is an international professional medical federation of over 100 national GI societies and 4 regional associations of gastroenterology representing over 50,000 individual members....
  • American College of Gastroenterology
    American College of Gastroenterology

    The American College of Gastroenterology is a Bethesda, Maryland, Maryland-based medical association of Gastroenterology.The association was founded in 1932 and holds annual meetings and regional postgraduate continuing education courses, establishes research grants, and publishes the American Journal of Gastroenterology....
  • American Gastroenterological Association
    American Gastroenterological Association

    The American Gastroenterological Association is a medical association of gastroenterology. About 14,000 scientists and physicians are members of the organization, which was founded in 1897 and is the oldest medical association in the United States....
  • American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy
    American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy

    The American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, or ASGE, is a professional organization of physicians dedicated to improving endoscopy. The ASGE is made up largely of gastroenterologists from the United States....
  • British Society of Gastroenterology
    British Society of Gastroenterology

    The British Society of Gastroenterology is a United Kingdom professional organisation of gastroenterology, surgeons, pathologists, radiologists, scientists, nurses, dietitians and others amongst its members, which number over 3,000....


External links