Gastrointestinal motility has evolved from an esoteric laboratory tool into a sophisti cated diagnostic technique that is now widely used clinically to guide in management of complex gastrointestinal problems. Today, it is the most rapidly growing subspecialty within gastroenterology. Previously, many of the gastrointestinal motility problems were either ignored or attributed to a disturbance of "psyche." But with the growing knowledge and understanding of how a dysfunction of the gastrointestinal muscle and nerves can cause disease, we are at the threshold of a revolution in our approach to the diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal motility disorders. The purpose of this book is to serve as a useful, up-to-date reference manual and guide for the diagnostic and therapeutic approach towards common adult and pediatric gastrointestinal motility problems. In order to enhance the understanding of these disor ders, a problem-oriented approach has been chosen, and wherever possible the authors have provided clinical case scenarios to illustrate their message. The emphasis has been on how to diagnose and treat motility disorders rather than to provide an encyclopedic infor mation. The reference list at the end of each chapter should enable the enthusiast to seek further information. Some of the material presented in this book has been derived from the proceedings of the annual University ofIowa College of Medicine GI Motility Symposia."

Gastrointestinal motility has evolved from an esoteric laboratory tool into a sophisti cated diagnostic technique that is now widely used clinically to guide in management of complex gastrointestinal problems. Today, it is the most rapidly growing subspecialty within gastroenterology. Previously, many of the gastrointestinal motility problems were either ignored or attributed to a disturbance of "psyche." But with the growing knowledge and understanding of how a dysfunction of the gastrointestinal muscle and nerves can cause disease, we are at the threshold of a revolution in our approach to the diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal motility disorders. The purpose of this book is to serve as a useful, up-to-date reference manual and guide for the diagnostic and therapeutic approach towards common adult and pediatric gastrointestinal motility problems. In order to enhance the understanding of these disor ders, a problem-oriented approach has been chosen, and wherever possible the authors have provided clinical case scenarios to illustrate their message. The emphasis has been on how to diagnose and treat motility disorders rather than to provide an encyclopedic infor mation. The reference list at the end of each chapter should enable the enthusiast to seek further information. Some of the material presented in this book has been derived from the proceedings of the annual University ofIowa College of Medicine GI Motility Symposia."

This book evolved from a two-day 1993 International Symposium on Radiation and the Gastrointestinal Tract held at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland. This area of investigation is particularly important because of growing medical needs and the documented occurrence of accidents involving overexposure of healthy subjects/patients. Some questions have been answered through cellular and animal research-results that lead to hypotheses that have been tested through clinical protocols. In an attempt to answer the unresolved questions, basic scientists and clinicians describe the data obtained to date, present in a critical manner the consensus that has been reached, and discuss what still remains to be investigated.
The book is divided into five parts: Overview and Clinical Perspective, Emesis, Motility, Diarrhea, and Behavioral Correlates of Gastrointestinal Dysfunction. Each part consists of separate discussions on the pathophysiology, the methodology, and, when applicable, the clinical relevance of the observations.
The book provides helpful information to both basic scientists involved in radiobiological research and to clinicians caring for patients exposed to radiation. It also serves as an introduction to the subject for young clinical investigators interested in the field and for scientists searching for correlates between their observations and disorders of the gastrointestinal tract.