Field of medicine: Primary care and psychiatry.

Format: Hardcover book.

Audience: Primary care physicians, gastroenterologists, and psychiatrists.

Purpose: To provide a clinically based overview of functional bowel disorders with emphasis on their psychophysiologic aspects.

Content: Most chapters are organized according to anatomic portions of the gastrointestinal tract. Other sections deal with the classification of functional bowel diseases and available therapeutic options. The psychodynamics of functional bowel disease are covered in greater depth than is pathophysiology.

Highlights: This book provides a well-organized discussion of gastrointestinal disorders that have a strong psychosomatic or behavioral component. This is important, given the controversy that existed in the field until the publication of the Rome classification. The usefulness of this book is enhanced by its emphasis on that classification.

Limitations: Objectives in most areas are met, but, as in many multiauthor texts, some chapters lack sufficient details.

Context: This book is valuable not only to internists but also to psychiatrists who often see patients with functional bowel disorders. However, some internists and gastroenterologists may prefer more detailed discussions of pathophysiology.

Reviewer: Michael D. Brown, MD, Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center.