Comprehensive monographs covering a broad field such as gastroenterology must be many things to many different readers to be uniformly popular. In such a monograph I hope to find a terse review of pertinent anatomy, pathology, physiology, and pathogenesis. A complete and adequate description of the diseases, their natural history, the basis of diagnosis and methods of proving the diagnosis, the possible therapies, and the anticipated results should follow. Should strong alternative views as to etiology, diagnosis, or treatment exist, I hope to find them fairly presented. To guide one to specific details in such a compendium, a comprehensive index is necessary and a bibliography for reading in depth should be provided. Twenty years ago, when the first edition of this book appeared, it was generally received as the best American monograph on this subject, and even now this first edition remains popular with physicians and students.
A complete rewrite