As stated by Professor Johnson in his introduction, this monumental work represents the most up-to-date and comprehensive knowledge of gastrointestinal (GI) physiology. It is a fitting memorial to Morton Grossman, to whom the work is dedicated.
The first volume consists of three sections. A general section deals with the physiology of the enteric nervous system, which proceeds to the specialized GI endocrine cells and their hormones and peptides. This is followed by a discussion of the proliferation, differentiation, and the regulation and turnover of the cells of the GI tract. A complete treatment of motility of the GI tract is to be found in the next 300 pages. Muscle and nerve structure, the biochemistry of the contractile process as well as energy conversion, fluid mechanics, and motility of the different sections of the GI tract are explored. The functions of the stomach, pancreas, and gallbladder encompass the next 400 pages