This book is based, in part, on the proceedings of a symposium entitled, "Advances in Pediatric Gastroenterology," which was held in Niagara Falls, NY, in April 1977. Even though some chapters were added and various sections extended, the book does not represent a comprehensive textbook of pediatric gastroenterology. As pointed out in the preface, it is intended to be a current supplement to available publications in the field. It achieves this goal quite well even though the title is somewhat misleading. Only selected gastrointestinal (GI) diseases are covered and not all are diseases of digestion.
The book is divided into the following seven sections: newer diagnostic procedures, genetic disorders, protective mechanisms of the GI tract, diarrhea, other common intestinal diseases, the pancreas, and the liver. I find it curious that the first section of the textbook is devoted to diagnostic procedures, whereas in the familiar format of medical textbooks, this