7-3-I-Search-Nathanael

= Gastroenterology = by Nathanael media type="custom" key="794735" Seven years ago, I was reading a book about human anatomy. I was reading a book about anatomy because I was studying the digestive system in school and I had decided that I wanted to know more about that system. That's when I came to the word GASTROENTEROLOGY. It sounded like a really long and difficult word. When I hear words that I don't know, I tend to find out the meaning of it. So, I begged my dad to buy me a book that specialized in gastroenterology. I knew a little bit about that subject. All I knew about gastroenterology was that it was related to the digestive tract and the digestive system. And well, sure enough, the first few pages of the book explained what that field of medicine studied. I read the whole book in a couple of days. Gastroenterology studies the digestive system and also its disorders. I still wonder about gastroenterology because that book only talked about the education that gastroenterologists received. I want to know what they study and the disorders that they treat. I know about gallstones, acid reflux, ulcers, hemorrhoids, and hepatitis, which are disorders that gastroenterologists treat and study.

So, it was already the afternoon and I had not written the body paragraph section of my I-search paper. Immediately, I stopped doing my English homework and I turned my turned my computer on. I went on the internet and I looked up Gastroenterology on google. I clicked on an interesting site. Overall, it said that Gastroenterology is a field of medicine that specializes in the disorders and functions of the gastrointestinal tract, which includes the stomach, esophagus, intestines, and other related organs to the digestive system, such as the pancreas, liver, and the gallbladder (Out Source Strategies). I personally think that gastroenterologists have a lot of business. When I went with my dad to a gastroenterologist in Sunnyside, the clinic was nearly full of patients waiting to be treated. Nowadays, there are many illnesses that affect the digestive tract, which gives them plenty of business.

I wanted to be a general doctor when I grow up but gastroenterology interests me. I feel that gastroenterology is very interesting because you learn and study exactly how food is processed by the human body and also what can go wrong with the digestion (Think Quest). Have you ever heard of the gastroesophageal reflux disease? The symptoms of this disease in children is when they are repeatedly vomiting, coughing, failing to gain adequate weight, bad breath, or burping. These are some symptoms of the gastroesophageal disease. Hepatitis is also a very common disease in New York. There are six types of hepatitis. There is hepatitis A, B, C, D, E, and G. The most common type of hepatitis is Hepatitis A, which affects many people annually. Although very few people visit a gastroenterologist due to Hepatitis A, many people consult these doctors in chronic cases of Hepatitis. Norovirus is a virus that Gastroenterologists treat and study. Gastroenterologists have found that noroviruses cause more than 90% of gastroenteritis non-bacterial outbreaks around the world. Since noroviruses are viruses, there is no drug that attacks the virus. Common signs and symptoms of this disease is nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. (Wikipedia). Noroviruses are normally transmitted in food contaminated with the virus, on surfaces or objects contaminated with the virus, and when in direct contact with an ill person. You can be contaminated with noroviruses more than once. Noroviruses normally go away after two days after the contamination (Public Health Program).

Gastroenterologists have a median salary of $303,516 a year. They have to finish high school, attend a university or college that specializes in medicine, and then go to medical school, and last, they have to go through a practice called residency. Gastroenterology is a field of medicine that not many people know of. When I told my teacher that I would do my I-search paper on Gastroenterology, many people had no idea what I was talking about. There are many medical procedures that gastroenterologists use. Some of these are used to detect any disorders that the digestive system has. For example, an endoscopy is a medical procedure where an endoscope is used. This a device or rigid tube that is used to look at the gastrointestinal tract. This procedure also has some risks. There is a risk of infection and of puncturing other organs. This is only one of many procedures used by Gastroenterologists. Another procedure that is used by Gastroenterologists is an endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (Wikipedia). Gastric Ulcers are ulcers that start in your stomach or gastrointestinal tract and are painful. It takes a lot of time to cure this disorder (__Atlas Of Anatomy__). The stomach is an important organ that is studied by Gastroenterologists. The stomach is "shaped like a shallow and thickened crescent (__Digital Atlas of Human Anatomy)__. So, finally, on Sunday, I interviewed a Gastroenterologist. I went to his office. He told me that many people are now having problems that relate to the gastrointestinal tract. He also said that he enjoys the job because most of the people he sees get better. He told me that for the past month or so, there has been plenty of business in his clinic (Anonymous).

Gastroenterology was first seen in the year 2125 BC. Since then, gastroenterology has become a field of medicine of medicine that is not as recognized as others but have many patients because of many stomachal viruses. When aI first saw the word Gastroenterology, I thought that it was a very deep and complex subject. After searching many times in google under "the digestive system", I finally found the Think Quest site, which really helped me. I also bought a gastroenterology book that is better than the previous one. Hopefully, you have understood what gastroenterology means. I am sure you didn't know what it meant but you should now know what gastroenterology is. In simple words, Gastroenterology is a field of medicine that studies the gastrointestinal tract and specializes in treating the disorders in the gastrointestinal tract.

**Works Cited**
"Digestive System." __Think Quest__. 9 Apr. 2008 <[|http://library.thinkquest.org/10348/find/content/digestive.html>.]

"http://www.outsourcestrategies.com/gastroenterology.htm." 10 Apr. 2008 <[|http://www.outsourcestrategies.com/gastroenterology.htm>.] " Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease-Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia." 10 Apr. 2008 <[|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gastroesophageal_reflux_disease>.]

"Hepatitis-Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia." 10 Apr. 2008 <[|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hepatitis>.]

"Public Health Program." __National Park Program__. US Department of the Interior. 17 Apr. 2008 <[|http://www.nps.gov/public_health/inter/info/factsheets/fs_noro_gen.htm>.]

Rigutti, Enrico. __Atlas of Anatomy__. Surrey: Taj Books LTD, 2002. 149-151.

Glenn, Jim. __Digital Atlas of Human Anatomy__. Miami: Anatographica LTD, 2007. 112-113.

"Norovirus-Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia." __Wikipedia__. 18 Apr. 2008 <[|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norovirus>.] "

Endoscopy-Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia." __Wikipedia__. 14 Apr. 2008 <[|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endoscopy>.]

"Medical Education-Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia." 10 Apr. 2008 <[|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_education>.]

Anonymous. Interview. 4-27-08 Gastroenterologist office. In-person interview.