[The aging gastrointestinal tract--diseases of the gastrointestinal tract in old age].

Gastrointestinal symptoms in geriatric patients are not necessarily due to disorders of the gut or even consequence of aging. The high capacity in regard to motoric phenomena, secretion and absorption prevents deficiency syndromes. The spectrum of geriatric gastrointestinal diseases does not differ from the one seen in the normal population except of the increasing rate of malignancies. Multimorbidity and consecutive polypragmasy may be responsible for iatrogenic disorders of the gastrointestinal tract.