The digestive tract is responsible for the intake, reduction, further transportation and absorption of food. It consists of the oral cavity, the pharynx, the oesophagus, the stomach and the intestines as well as the associated organs liver, gallbladder and pancreas.
Diseases of the internal organs are treated by specialists in internal medicine. Common clinical pictures of the digestive tract or gastrointestinal tract are
One area of internal medicine is gastroenterology, which deals with the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases and functional disorders of the digestive organs stomach, intestines and liver.
The most important preventive and examination methods used by gastroenterologists include endoscopic diagnostic procedures such as gastroscopy or colonoscopy as well as ultrasound examinations(sonography) of the stomach, intestines, liver and kidneys.
Diet-related diseases and disorders of the digestive organs can be treated either conservatively, for example as part of nutritional medicine, or surgically as part of visceral surgery or bariatric surgery.
Experts in nutritional medicine are specialists in nutritional therapy measures for the prevention and treatment of obesity and diet-related diseases such as food allergies or digestive disorders. The range of nutritional medicine services includes, in particular, dietary change therapy, weight reduction therapy and the creation of individual nutritional concepts for obesity, nutrition-dependent diseases and cancer.
Within gastroenterology, there are various other sub-areas: proctology, which focuses on the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of rectal diseases - i.e. diseases of the rectum and anus - and hepatology, which specializes in diseases of the liver and bile ducts.
Experts in proctology , for example, focus on treating conditions such as haemorrhoids, faecal incontinence and anal fissures, while hepatology experts specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of conditions such as liver cirrhosis, hepatitis, liver failure and bile duct diseases.
are employed.
Visceral surgery experts are responsible for the surgical treatment of diseases of the abdominal organs. The range of services offered by visceral surgery primarily includes operations on
In addition, surgical treatment of the pancreas
are also part of visceral surgery.
Bariatric surgery experts deal with the surgical treatment of morbid obesity that can no longer be treated conservatively. The aim of obesity surgery, also known as bariatric surgery, is to help severely obese people lose weight. Common bariatric surgery procedures are
The diagnosis and treatment of kidney diseases such as renal insufficiency, kidney cancer or kidney stones is the task of nephrology experts. However, disorders of the water and electrolyte balance as well as disorders of the acid-base balance are also among the main areas of treatment for nephrologists. The aim of nephrology is essentially to stabilize kidney function.