The Large Intestine: Physiology, Pathophysiology, and Disease

Phillips, Pemberton, and Shorter have put together a most authoritative, true, and comprehensive text, which will surely serve as the standard for students and professionals whose significant interest is in the workings of the large bowel. The editors at the outset make clear their goal of putting together a book that will pay attention to basic science as it relates to the colon, starting with physiology and immunology and concluding with considerations of disease and management. They have managed this in chapters that are generally concise and not redundant—notnot an easy feat in a multiauthored, international text. Indeed, one third of the chapter authors come from outside the United States, a feature that adds balance and interest for the American reader. The chapters are organized in a connected fashion and yet could be freestanding mini-reviews of their subjects. The book has three main sections: "Structure and Function" (25%), "General Clinical