[The clinical physiology of the digestive system. The difficulties in its determination and the first results].

The paper shows it necessary to define clinical physiology of the digestive system as a nosological entity due to the natural evolution of physiology and to the increasing clinical practical requirements. It considers its purpose, tasks, and areas under study and gives the results of some original studies of the gastroduodenal and hepatobiliary systems and the small intestine. Special emphasis is laid on new guidelines to examining the functional and morphological states of the alimentary tract.

[The dynamic functional-morphological changes in the small intestine of obese patients undergoing weight-reducing diet therapy].

Two groups of pathogenetic mucosal changes peculiar to fasting period were revealed in 28 obese patients: a structural rearrangement of mucosa with inhibition of mitotic activity of epithelial crypts, and the inflammatory responses manifested by increased cellular infiltration of stroma and compensatory-adaptive changes of capillary bed structures. The adequate dietotherapy provided full recovery of the mucosa tissue parameters on the 26th day.