Chapter 1. The Historical Roots of Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition

J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2018 Apr;66 Suppl 1(Suppl 1):S2-S19. doi: 10.1097/MPG.0000000000001917.

Abstract

The last 50 years have seen the establishment of paediatric gastroenterology, hepatology, and nutrition (PGHAN) as a well-recognised and thriving clinical specialty throughout most of Europe, and further afield. This has happened, in part, through the existence of the European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition (ESPGHAN) as a forum for those interested in this branch of children's medicine. To illustrate the pan-European roots of PGHAN, some key scientific and medical events, discoveries, and inventions relevant to 3 common clinical problems-diarrhoea, jaundice, and infant-feeding-have been chosen to survey the historical development of the ways in which each was understood and treated within the changing thinking and practice of past times. Together they are used to trace the prehistory of ESPGHAN and provide a background against which to explain the genesis of the Society and how its spheres of clinical and scientific interest came to be defined.

Publication types

  • Historical Article

MeSH terms

  • Anniversaries and Special Events
  • Child
  • Child Nutrition Sciences / history*
  • Child Nutrition Sciences / organization & administration
  • Europe
  • Gastroenterology / history*
  • Gastroenterology / organization & administration
  • History, 15th Century
  • History, 16th Century
  • History, 17th Century
  • History, 18th Century
  • History, 19th Century
  • History, 20th Century
  • History, Ancient
  • History, Medieval
  • Humans
  • Pediatrics / history*
  • Pediatrics / organization & administration
  • Societies, Medical / history*
  • Societies, Medical / organization & administration