Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders

IN most of us the the gastrointestinal tract is quiet, unobtrusive, and efficient, but it gives trouble to at least one person in three. Often symptoms are slight, and simple traditional remedies suffice. A few people experience recurrent or constant symptoms that are severe enough to be disabling and for which no explanation can be found. The symptoms of at least one fifth of the patients who consult a gastroenterologist remain unexplained.1 , 2 The clinical problem of functional gastrointestinal symptoms cannot be ignored.DefinitionFor the purpose of this review, a functional symptom is defined as one for which no structural, . . .