The Small Intestine: Its Function and Diseases.

Abstract

Less than ten years have passed since practical methods of obtaining biopsy material from the human intestinal mucosa were developed. In these years, new information provided by serial biopsy has revealed new diseases of the intestine and new concepts about old and new ideas about therapy, as biopsy has with other organs. The Tropical Research Medical Laboratory of the United States Army located in Puerto Rico has been investigating tropical sprue for more than a decade, and out of their extensive studies this book has grown. There can be no question that the major advances in the function and pathology of the small intestine have rendered a book devoted to this subject timely. The book, entirely by two authors, consists of 15 chapters, the first seven devoted to function and testing of the small intestine and the last eight to specific disease entities. The orientation is entirely toward the clinical