Origins and Directions of Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Early Studies of the Nonspecific Inflammatory Bowel Diseases

Few human illnesses are as challenging, medically, scientifically and socio-economically, as the nonspecific inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD): ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. They often attack children and young adults and involve all bodily systems as well as the gastrointestinal tract. Originating several centuries ago but essentially diseases of the 20th century, ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease have emerged in recent decades as among the more glamorous unsolved diseases, presenting unusual opportunities for insightful clinical and investigative study. Many of the prevailing concepts originated during the early and mid 20th century. The purpose of this book is to review these earlier studies and their evolution and to guide investigators and physicians through the challenging clinical and scientific maze of IBD.