[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.