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Editors A. P. Shepherd and D. N. Granger sampled worldwide research in assembling Physiology of the Intestinal Circulation. It is a book for investigators rather than clinicians, but it should not be ignored by general surgeons. Although emphasis is placed on blood flow regulation and hemodynamics, basic concerns in intestinal physiology, such as motility, secretion, and fluid exchange, are addressed.
The physiology of intestinal fluids is considered in detail. Capillary and lymphatic dynamics are compared as they affect fluid shifts in the intestinal circulation. The excellent chapter on portal hypertension by Charles and Marlys Witte correlates investigative and clinical findings in this area. In another helpful chapter for the clinician, Bynum et al discuss the patho-physiology of nonocclusive intestinal ischemia. They emphasize the causative roles played by heart failure and digitalis.
One of three chapters on the subject of pharmacology reviews the therapeutic role of intestinal vasoconstrictors in man. Vasopressin,