Prof. Dr Thomas BRZOZOWSKI works as a professor of human physiology and holds the position of Chairman of the Department of Physiology and is v-Dean of Medical Faculty at Jagiellonian University Medical College, Cracow, Poland.His major area of interest is physiology and pathophysiology of gastrointestinal (GI) tract with the major focus addressed to the mechanism of GI mucosal defense, protection and ulcer healing. He was a postdoctoral NIH fellow at University of California and Gastroenterology VA Medical Center, Irvine and Long Beach, CA, USA and at Gastroenterology Clinics at Erlangen-Nuremberg and Munster in Germany. He published 290 original articles in most prestigious scientific journals and 7 book chapters in the field related to pathophysiology of GI tract, gastroprotection, ulcer healing, drug therapy of peptic ulcer, hormonal regulation of the gut and inflammatory bowel disease.
The purpose of this book was to present the integrative, basic and clinical approaches based on recent developments in the field of gastroenterology. The most important advances in the pathophysiology and treatment of gastrointestinal disorders are discussed including; gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), peptic ulcer disease, irritable bowel disease (IBD), NSAIDs-induced gastroenteropathy and pancreatitis. Special focus was addressed to microbial aspects in the gut including recent achievements in the understanding of function of probiotic bacteria, their interaction with gastrointestinal epithelium and usefulness in the treatment of human disorders. We hope that this book will provide relevant new information useful to clinicians and basic scientists as well as to medical students, all looking for new advancements in the field of gastroenterology.