View source for Gastroenterology

{{For|the journal|Gastroenterology (journal)}}
{{Infobox Occupation
| name= Gastroenterologist 
| image= 
| caption= 
| official_names= Doctor, Medical Specialist  
<!------------Details------------------->
| type= [[Specialty (medicine)|Specialty]]
| activity_sector= [[Medicine]]
| competencies= 
| formation= [[Doctor of Medicine]]
| employment_field= [[Hospital]]s, [[Clinic]]s
| related_occupation= 
| average_salary= USD $300,000 (M.D./D.O.)
}}

'''Gastroenterology''' ([[Medical Subject Headings|MeSH]] heading)<ref>[http://www.nlm.nih.gov/cgi/mesh/2007/MB_cgi?mode=&term=gastroenterology nlm.nih.gov]</ref> is the branch of [[medicine]] whereby the [[digestive system]] and its disorders are studied. The name is a combination of three [[Ancient Greek]] words ''[[wikt:γαστήρ|gaster]] (gen.: gastros)'' ([[stomach]]), ''[[wikt:ἔντερον|enteron]]'' ([[intestine]]), and ''[[logos]]'' ([[reason]]).

[[Diseases]] affecting the [[gastrointestinal tract]], which includes the [[Organ (anatomy)|organs]] from [[mouth]] to [[anus]], along the [[alimentary canal]], are the focus of this specialty. [[Physicians]] practicing in this field of medicine are called '''gastroenterologists'''. They have usually completed the eight years of pre-medical and medical education, the yearlong internship (if this is not a part of the residency), three years of an internal medicine residency, and two to three years in the gastroenterology fellowship. Specialists in GI radiology, hepatobiliary or gastric medicine, or in GI oncology will then complete a two- or three-year fellowship. Gastroenterology is not the same as gastroenterological surgery or of colon and rectal (proctology) surgery, which are specialty branches of general surgery. Important advances have been made in the last fifty years, contributing to rapid expansion of its scope.

'''[[Hepatology]]''', or '''hepatobiliary medicine''', encompasses the study of the [[liver]], [[pancreas]], and [[biliary tree]], and is traditionally considered a sub-specialty.

==History==

[[File:Bozzini Lichtleiter.jpg|thumb|Drawings of Bozzini's "Lichtleiter"]]

Citing from [[Ancient Egypt|Egyptian]] [[papyrus|papyri]], Nunn identified significant knowledge of gastrointestinal diseases among practising physicians during the periods of the [[pharaoh]]s. [[Irynakhty]], of the tenth dynasty, c. 2125 B.C., was a court [[physician]] specialising in gastroenterology and [[proctology]].<ref>Nunn JF. Ancient Egyptian Medicine. 2002. ISBN 0-80613-504-2.</ref>

Among ancient [[Greeks]], [[Hippocrates]] attributed [[digestion]] to concoction. [[Galen]]'s concept of the [[stomach]] having four ''faculties'' was widely accepted up to modernity in the seventeenth century.

Eighteenth century:
* [[Italy|Italian]] [[Lazzaro Spallanzani]] (1729–99) was among early [[physician]]s to disregard Galen's theories, and in 1780 he gave experimental proof on the action of [[gastric]] juice on foodstuffs.
* In 1767, [[Germany|German]] [[Johann Georg Ritter von Zimmermann|Johann von Zimmermann]] wrote an important work on [[dysentery]].
* In 1777, [[Maximilian Stoll]] of [[Vienna]] described cancer of the [[gallbladder]].<ref>Edgardo Rivera, MD
James L. Abbruzzese, MD; Pancreatic, Hepatic, and Biliary Carcinomas, MEDICAL ONCOLOGY: A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW [http://www.cancernetwork.com/textbook/morev16.htm/]</ref><ref>DeStoll M: Rationis Mendendi, in Nosocomio Practico vendobonensi.
Part 1 LugduniBatavarum, Haak et Socios et A et J Honkoop 1788, OCLC: 23625746</ref>

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]], and the [[pharynx]]. This is the earliest description of [[endoscopy]].<ref>Gilger, Mark A. MD,Gastroenterologic endoscopy in children: past, present, and future. Gastroenterology and nutrition Current Opinion in Pediatrics. 13(5):429-434, October 2001.
</ref><ref>[http://www.olympus-global.com/en/corc/history/endo/ The Origin of Endoscopes, Olympus history]</ref>
* [[Charles Emile Troisier]] described enlargement of [[lymph node]]s in abdominal cancer.<ref>Anton Sebastian,A Dictionary of the History of Medicine, ISBN 1850700214 </ref>
* In 1823, [[William Prout]] discovered that [[stomach]] juices contain [[hydrochloric acid]].<ref>''Prout, W.'' On the nature of the acid and saline matters usually existing in the stomachs of animals.&nbsp;– Philos. Transactions, 1824, 1, 45.</ref>
* In 1868, [[Adolf Kussmaul]], a well-known German physician, developed the [[gastroscope]]. He perfected the technique on a [[Sword swallowing|sword swallower]].
* In 1871, at the society of physicians in Vienna, [[Karl Stoerk|Carl Stoerk]] demonstrated an esophagoscope made of two telescopic metal tubes, initially devised by Waldenburg in 1870.
* In 1876, [[Karl Wilhelm von Kupffer]] described the properties of some liver cells now called [[Kupffer cell]].
* In 1883, [[Hugo Kronecker]] and [[Samuel James Meltzer]] studied oesophageal [[manometry]] in humans.
[[Image:McClendon pH-probe.png|60px|thumb|[[Jesse Francis McClendon|McClendon's]] pH-probe]]
Twentieth century:
* In 1915, [[Jesse Francis McClendon|Jesse McClendon]] tested [[Gastric acid|acidity]] of human stomach ''[[in situ]]''.<ref>McClendon J. F. New hydrogen electrodes and rapid methods of determining hydrogen ion concentrations.&nbsp;– Amer. J. Physoil., 1915, 38, 2, 180.</ref>
* In 1921-22, [[Walter C. Alvarez|Walter Alvarez]] did the first [[electrogastrogram|electrogastrography]] research.<ref>Alvarez W. C. The electrogastrogram and what it shows. JAMA, 78(15):1116-18, 1922.</ref>
* [[Rudolph Schindler (doctor)|Rudolph Schindler]] described many important diseases involving the human digestive system during [[World War I]] 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]] described [[Crohn's disease]].
* In 1957, [[Basil Hirschowitz]] introduced the first prototype of a fibreoptic gastroscope.

Twenty-first century:
* In 2005, [[Barry Marshall]] and [[Robin Warren]] of Australia were awarded the [[Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine]] for their discovery of ''[[Helicobacter pylori]]'' (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]] 2007)/WHO classification''':<br />
*Chapter XI,Diseases of the digestive system,(K00-K93)[http://www.who.int/classifications/apps/icd/icd10online/]
2. '''[[Medical Subject Headings|MeSH]] subject Heading''':<br />
*Gastroenterology (G02.403.776.409.405)[http://www.nlm.nih.gov/cgi/mesh/2007/MB_cgi?mode=&term=Gastroenterology&field=entry]
*Gastroenterological diseases(C06.405)[http://www.nlm.nih.gov/cgi/mesh/2007/MB_cgi?mode=&term=Gastrointestinal+Diseases#TreeC06.405]
3. '''[[National Library of Medicine]] Catalogue(NLM classification 2006)''':<br />
*Digestive system(W1)[http://wwwcf.nlm.nih.gov/class/class_wi.html#WI]

==Gastroenterological societies==
* [[World Gastroenterology Organisation]]
* [[American College of Gastroenterology]]
* [[American Gastroenterological Association]]
* [[American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy]]
* [[British Society of Gastroenterology]]

== Research Resources for Gastroenterology ==
*  Annals of Gastroenterology & Hepatology - www.slm-gastroenterology.com (Published by San Lucas Medical www.slm-journals.com)

* [[Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology]] (SGAS)

==See also==
Annals of Gastroenterology & Hepatology - www.slm-gastroenterology.com (Published by San Lucas Medical www.slm-journals.com)
*[[Gastroenterology (journal)]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Dmoz|Health/Medicine/Medical_Specialties/Gastroenterology/Journals/|Publications/Journals}}
* [http://www.virtualgastrocentre.com/ Virtual Gastro Centre]
* [http://www.gastrohep.com/ GastroHep.com - Gastrohep]
* [http://www.daveproject.org/ The Digital Atlas of Video Education - Gastroenterology]

{{Gastroenterology}}
{{Medicine}}

[[Category:Gastroenterology| ]]
[[Category:Subjects taught in medical school]]

[[ar:طب الجهاز الهضمي]]
[[az:Qastroenterologiya]]
[[bn:পাকান্ত্রবিদ্যা]]
[[bs:Gastroenterologija]]
[[bg:Гастроентерология]]
[[de:Gastroenterologie]]
[[es:Gastroenterología]]
[[eo:Gastroenterologio]]
[[eu:Digestio aparatuaren medikuntza]]
[[fa:گاستروانترولوژی]]
[[fr:Gastro-entérologie]]
[[hi:ग्यास्त्रोएन्टेरोलोजी]]
[[hr:Gastroenterologija]]
[[id:Gastroenterologi]]
[[it:Gastroenterologia]]
[[he:גסטרואנטרולוגיה]]
[[jv:Gastroenterologi]]
[[la:Gastroenterologia]]
[[hu:Gasztroenterológia]]
[[nl:Gastro-enterologie]]
[[ne:ग्यास्त्रोएन्टेरोलोजी]]
[[ja:消化器学]]
[[no:Gastroenterologi]]
[[pl:Gastroenterologia]]
[[pt:Gastroenterologia]]
[[ru:Гастроэнтерология]]
[[sq:Gastroenterologjia]]
[[sk:Gastroenterológia]]
[[sl:Gastroenterologija]]
[[sh:Gastroenterologija]]
[[fi:Gastroenterologia]]
[[sv:Gastroenterologi]]
[[th:วิทยาทางเดินอาหาร]]
[[tr:Gastroenteroloji]]
[[uk:Гастроентерологія]]
[[Category:2Fix]]