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Previous Volume 344:1846-1850 June 14, 2001 Number 24 Next

	Since this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

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In 1849, Cumming¹ said of the irritable bowel syndrome, "The bowels are at one time constipated, another lax, in the same person. How the disease has two such different symptoms I do not profess to explain." Over the years, the unexplained gastrointestinal symptoms of the irritable bowel syndrome have been described in various terms, including mucous colitis, spastic colitis, nervous colon, and irritable colon. The irritable bowel syndrome and nonulcer dyspepsia are the most common functional gastrointestinal disorders.

The irritable bowel syndrome is defined on the basis of the recently modified Rome criteria as the presence for at least 12 . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Epidemiologic Features

Pathophysiologic Features

Altered Bowel Motility

Visceral Hypersensitivity

Psychosocial Factors

Neurotransmitter Imbalance

Infection and Inflammation

Diagnosis

Treatment

Source Information

From the Gastroenterology Section and the Functional Gastrointestinal Diseases Center, Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia.

Address reprint requests to Dr. Fisher at the Gastroenterology Section, Temple University Hospital, 3401 N. Broad St., Philadelphia, PA 19140.

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