Gastroenterologist

A gastroenterologist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of disorders of the digestive system. The digestive or gastrointestinal (GI) system includes the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, colon, and rectum, which are the organs through which food passes in the body. It also includes the liver, gallbladder, and pancreas, which are organs directly related to the digestion, absorption, and removal of nutrients and waste. Therefore, a gastroenterologist is trained to deal with a broad range of disorders such as gastroesophageal reflux disease (heartburn), peptic ulcer disease (PUD), gallbladder and bilary tract disease, hepatitis, pancreatitis, inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), celiac disease, and colon polyps or cancer.

Both pediatric and adult gastroenterologists generally receive five to six years of training after graduating from medical school. In the United States, pediatric gastroenterologists complete their initial residency in pediatrics and then a fellowship (further specialized training) in pediatric gastroenterology while adult gastroenterologists complete their initial residency in internal medicine and then a fellowship in gastroenterology.

One of the diagnostic and therapeutic tools that gastroenterologists frequently use is endoscopy. It is a specialized skill in which gastroenterologist receive extensive training and involves the use of a flexible, lighted tube with a built in camera in order to directly visualize parts of the upper gastrointestinal system (esophagus, stomach, duodenum) or the lower gastrointestinal system (rectum, sigmoid colon, colon). Endoscopy can be utilized for diagnosis of gastrointestinal disorders by visualization or biopsy for such things as peptic ulcers or colon cancer. It can also be used for therapeutic procedures such as dilatation for disorders of narrowing of the GI tract such as achalasia, hemostasis (to control bleeding) for a bleeding ulcer, or the removal of colon polyps.