Looking for a comprehensive book on Digestive System

[meiji]

Hi All,

I'm not sure this is the right place, but I figured some people here might have a recommendation or two.

I want to study about the digestive system, so I would like recommendations on the best book to get. Specifically, I want to understand what creates the differences in digestive system attributes between patients, e.g. digestion speed, satiation, gastric emptying speed etc. I would also like the book to cover any tests that exist that can be done to analyze a patients digestive process, to determine factors influencing the efficiency of digestion.

Motivation is my desire to understand my own body. I have had digestive shortcomings my entire life (so it's obviously ultimately a genetic thing). These shortcomings have never risen to the level of 'pathology', so the many doctors I visited have always been uninterested and eager for me to leave their office. These digestive shortcomings have resulted in me having a severely malnourished appearance, hovering just above anorexic, generally low energy levels relative to my peers, and social problems in a dining setting (finishing even small amounts of food well after everybody else). This has greatly influenced my quality of life and put a hefty limit on my personal performance, especially in the social arena, so I am determined to know in detail the nature of this bodily shortcoming, such that I may possibly work out a way to ameliorate it.

So if anyone could recommend a good, comprehensive book on this topic, I would be very grateful. I have a good understanding of basic biology due to my high school studies, and I am happy to learn any other ground-work that would allow me to understand medical-level digestive biology.

Many thanks

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[bashwell]

Hi All,

I'm not sure this is the right place, but I figured some people here might have a recommendation or two.

I want to study about the digestive system, so I would like recommendations on the best book to get. Specifically, I want to understand what creates the differences in digestive system attributes between patients, e.g. digestion speed, satiation, gastric emptying speed etc. I would also like the book to cover any tests that exist that can be done to analyze a patients digestive process, to determine factors influencing the efficiency of digestion.

Motivation is my desire to understand my own body. I have had digestive shortcomings my entire life (so it's obviously ultimately a genetic thing). These shortcomings have never risen to the level of 'pathology', so the many doctors I visited have always been uninterested and eager for me to leave their office. These digestive shortcomings have resulted in me having a severely malnourished appearance, hovering just above anorexic, generally low energy levels relative to my peers, and social problems in a dining setting (finishing even small amounts of food well after everybody else). This has greatly influenced my quality of life and put a hefty limit on my personal performance, especially in the social arena, so I am determined to know in detail the nature of this bodily shortcoming, such that I may possibly work out a way to ameliorate it.

So if anyone could recommend a good, comprehensive book on this topic, I would be very grateful. I have a good understanding of basic biology due to my high school studies, and I am happy to learn any other ground-work that would allow me to understand medical-level digestive biology.

Many thanks

1) SDN isn't a place for medical advice so I hope this isn't some sort of an indirect way to get some personal medical advice.

2) Another caveat is you can't completely understand the human body by understanding a single system. You have to understand the entire human body. In other words the gastrointestinal system can't simply be studied and understood in isolation to the rest of the human body. Otherwise it'd be like trying to understand how a car works and how to fix a car by focusing only on the fuel-injection system, but neglecting everything else (e.g., the ignition system, the starting system including car battery, the wheel axle system).

3) However, if you're just asking what's a good introductory book to the gastrointestinal system for a person with high school level biology, then hmmm....Maybe try one of the books below. Several are British though, so there will be slight differences to the US (e.g., metric, different terminology), but they should still be good enough as an introduction.

-Gastroenterology: An Illustrated Colour Textbook
-The Gastrointestinal System at a Glance
-The Human Body: How It Works: Digestion and Nutrition
-Systems of the Body: The Digestive System

 

[meiji]

Thanks for reply, I'll have a look at those books and see if it's what I'm looking for.

OK, but to what extent can I sever learning of the digestive system from the rest of the body? I.e. the endocrine system and nervous system is intimately associated, but am I right to assume the skeletal system would have negligible relevance? I guess I'm looking for advice about a study guide that might help me eventually answer these specific questions without having to understand the whole body in detail. E.g. I can exclude learning about the eye, ear, heart, and so on because they aren't related closely enough to the issue to materially affect it.

 

[bashwell]

Thanks for reply, I'll have a look at those books and see if it's what I'm looking for.

OK, but to what extent can I sever learning of the digestive system from the rest of the body? I.e. the endocrine system and nervous system is intimately associated, but am I right to assume the skeletal system would have negligible relevance? I guess I'm looking for advice about a study guide that might help me eventually answer these specific questions without having to understand the whole body in detail. E.g. I can exclude learning about the eye, ear, heart, and so on because they aren't related closely enough to the issue to materially affect it.

It's difficult to say what may or may not be related to the GI system. It depends on other factors (e.g., who the person is, what the problem they're having is). Otherwise it's just generalizing.

I think that's fine if you just want to understand the GI system for its own sake though. I think the books I mentioned above are a decent start. Or hopefully others will have better recommendations for you.

You could also start with a book like Clinical Pathophysiology Made Ridiculously Simple to understand "the big picture" of the entire human body, or just read the GI chapter, and then move onto more in-depth books about the GI system.

 

[meiji]

OK I settled for a larger book inspired by those suggestions, Gastrointestinal Physiology 2/E (Lange Medical Books). So I'll start there.

 

[bashwell]

OK I settled for a larger book inspired by those suggestions, Gastrointestinal Physiology 2/E (Lange Medical Books). So I'll start there.

I guess that's a decent book if you want to learn as much about GI physiology as you can (though I'd personally prefer just reading the GI chapter in Costanzo then Goljan). But you're probably not going to get as much of the clinical picture (e.g., "any tests that exist that can be done to analyze a patients digestive process").

Or just go full Sleisenger and Fordtran.

 

[visari]

Sorry, but you're not gonna be able to figure out what's wrong with you by reading a book (or 15). You will read a lot of information and end up convinced you have a disease that you don't really have. And then doctors will be eager for you to leave their office even more.

 

[meiji]

Or just go full Sleisenger and Fordtran.

What is this? Is it some kind of 'heavy duty' medicine book?

Sorry, but you're not gonna be able to figure out what's wrong with you by reading a book (or 15). You will read a lot of information and end up convinced you have a disease that you don't really have. And then doctors will be eager for you to leave their office even more.

I don't recognize this stance towards disease. It is an interesting point to debate though. Attempting to place a binary property (he is or is not 'diseased') upon what could more accurately be classed as a continuum. You see this especially in fields like psychology, with ever new forms of 'disorder', like 'adjustment disorder', attempting to ascribe pathology to sub-optimum human behaviour. Are they right or wrong to do so? Is the man with coronary arteries blocked only 50% the way towards infarction non-diseased or diseased? Does it have to reach 100% and finally trigger the cascade to infarction to be considered 'diseased'?

To take a simple example -- is longsightedness a disease? It must be, since an optometrist is a doctor, and as you put it doctors only treat disease. If so, how much longsightedness? You have to set some arbitrary amount. If I don't need to ever read because I'm living in a hunter-gatherer society, am I diseased? Do I become diseased when I move to another society that uses reading and writing?

I simply disagree that bodily performance must drop to a level approaching death or severe dysfunction before it gets the attention of medicine. There is plenty of room for medicine in the moderate dysfunction area.

 

[bashwell]

@visari is always wise

I probably should've just stayed out of this thread.

OP, I did just want to say this last thing: I think you're best off speaking with your physician. If they're any good, they can address everything you're asking including preventative care etc. If they're not, please find another physician.

 

[gutonc]

I simply disagree that bodily performance must drop to a level approaching death or severe dysfunction before it gets the attention of medicine. There is plenty of room for medicine in the moderate dysfunction area.

I don't think @visari (or any of us) would argue that. The fact that you think we believe that tells us pretty much all we need to know about you.

 

[meiji]

OP, I did just want to say this last thing: I think you're best off speaking with your physician. If they're any good, they can address everything you're asking including preventative care etc. If they're not, please find another physician.

I believe I've been to 5 different physicians, including ones claiming to specialize in digestion/nutrition and fixing digestive problems. None of them even knew about or mentioned drugs like marinol, cyproheptadine, or megestrol acetate. Those were all Australians though, so take that as you will. It took walking into a GP's office in Korea to finally be prescribed the last 2 (fortunately the last 1 was out of stock at the pharmacy, nobody should be prescribing something like that to a young man). As I recall though I had started doing my own research then, and I specifically asked for cyproheptadine, which that doctor advised against because he didn't think it was strong enough.

I consider that to be a sufficient number of physicians to deny any further deference to them and their profession, and to invoke the rule "if you want something done right, do it yourself". Hence why I'm not asking for medical advice here (which I understand to be against the rules anyway), and merely asking for guidance on doing my own studies. I will also be studying up on the different forms of medical imaging to determine which one is best for imaging the gastrointestinal system, and will be studying the DICOM file with my own copy of the software, and comparing it to images of other patients.

 

[bashwell]

I believe I've been to 5 different physicians, including ones claiming to specialize in digestion/nutrition and fixing digestive problems. None of them even knew about or mentioned drugs like marinol, cyproheptadine, or megestrol acetate. Those were all Australians though, so take that as you will. It took walking into a GP's office in Korea to finally be prescribed the last 2 (fortunately the last 1 was out of stock at the pharmacy, nobody should be prescribing something like that to a young man). As I recall though I had started doing my own research then, and I specifically asked for cyproheptadine, which that doctor advised against because he didn't think it was strong enough.

I consider that to be a sufficient number of physicians to deny any further deference to them and their profession, and to invoke the rule "if you want something done right, do it yourself". Hence why I'm not asking for medical advice here (which I understand to be against the rules anyway), and merely asking for guidance on doing my own studies. I will also be studying up on the different forms of medical imaging to determine which one is best for imaging the gastrointestinal system, and will be studying the DICOM file with my own copy of the software, and comparing it to images of other patients.

At the same time, please don't forget "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing"!

 

[bashwell]

I believe I've been to 5 different physicians, including ones claiming to specialize in digestion/nutrition and fixing digestive problems. None of them even knew about or mentioned drugs like marinol, cyproheptadine, or megestrol acetate. Those were all Australians though, so take that as you will. It took walking into a GP's office in Korea to finally be prescribed the last 2 (fortunately the last 1 was out of stock at the pharmacy, nobody should be prescribing something like that to a young man). As I recall though I had started doing my own research then, and I specifically asked for cyproheptadine, which that doctor advised against because he didn't think it was strong enough.

I consider that to be a sufficient number of physicians to deny any further deference to them and their profession, and to invoke the rule "if you want something done right, do it yourself". Hence why I'm not asking for medical advice here (which I understand to be against the rules anyway), and merely asking for guidance on doing my own studies. I will also be studying up on the different forms of medical imaging to determine which one is best for imaging the gastrointestinal system, and will be studying the DICOM file with my own copy of the software, and comparing it to images of other patients.

I'm in Australia. Where in Australia are you? Did your GP refer you to a gastroenterologist? PM me if you prefer.

 

[meiji]

I'm in Australia. Where in Australia are you? Did your GP refer you to a gastroenterologist? PM me if you prefer.

No I was never referred to a gastroenterologist, I guess because it didn't rise to the level of 'disease' in their eyes. I'm currently expat from Australia.

 

[CatFactorial]

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