Women's Issues in Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, An Issue of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Clinics

The need for womens leadership in gastroenterology has resulted in an increasing demand for gender-specific educational programs. In 2002, the first forum on womens issues in gastroenterology was held in an attempt to educate physicians on disease processes that are specific to women. Additional educational programs are needed to emphasize the unique challenges in performing endoscopy on woman. This edition is divided into three sections and focuses on endoscopic topics that are specific to women. The first section encompasses the challenges of performing various endoscopic procedures in the pregnant woman. The second section describes gender-specific abnormalities of the upper gastrointestinal tract. The last section includes the diverse pathologic and endoscopic abnormalities that are seen in the lower gastrointestinal tract of women. Keywords:: Endoscopy, Pregnancy, Gastric-bypass, volvulus, autoimmune, rectal procidentia, Rapunzels syndrome, microscopic colitis, NSAIDs, endoscopic ultrasound, ERCP, colonoscop