“This book lets clinicians look things up quickly and read more in-depth about a subject pertaining to their patients. Our goal was to make the book as comprehensive and accessible as possible.” – Lawrence Friedman, MD
There are lots of hot topics in gastroenterology and hepatology. The hottest topic is the advance in the treatment of viral hepatitis with direct-acting anti-viral agents. There are also new advances in cirrhosis, management of portal hypertension with new drug therapies, and the management of patients with new algorithms. In gastroenterology, there are new advances in every area that we cover in our book. It’s a vibrant and exciting field.
One of the exciting aspects of Sleisenger and Fordtran’s Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease is that we can update the online version in real-time. So, when an important paper is published we can add a short summary and link to that paper right within the chapter in which that subject is discussed.
I love The Handbook of Liver Disease. Sadly, my co-editor, Emmet B. Keeffe, passed away as the book was published. He was a terrific friend, colleague, and editor. The book was a labor of love for both of us. With The Handbook of Liver Disease we wanted to put cutting-edge material that can be used in clinical practice into the hand of the practitioner. The book lets clinicians look things up quickly and read more in-depth about a subject pertaining to their patients. Our goal was to make the book as comprehensive and accessible as possible. I think it’s a very useful book and I continue to love editing it.
I was very fortunate to be asked to be a co-editor of Sleisenger and Fordtran’s Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease for its seventh edition. Now, it’s in its ninth edition, which came out in 2010. It’s a very comprehensive book. Like with the Handbook of Liver Disease, we attracted the best authors who are at the forefront of their fields. It’s incredibly exciting for me. We want this book to serve as the authoritative reference for people in the field. It has to be up-to-date. It has to be accurate. It has to be clear and well-organized. We put a lot of effort into editing this book. Sleisenger and Fordtran’s truly is a labor of love.
Lawrence S. Friedman, MD is Chair of the Department of Medicine at Newton-Wellesley Hospital and Assistant Chief of Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital. He is also a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Tufts University School of Medicine.
Dr. Friedman holds his medical degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and completed his residency training at Johns Hopkins Hospital, followed by a clinical and research fellowship in gastroenterology at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. He is the author of approximately 300 papers and chapters on all aspects of gastroenterology and past chair of the American Board of Internal Medicine, Subspecialty of Gastroenterology. He has served as reviewer for 25 journals, has mentored 55 clinical fellows and manages approximately 40 residents and 40 medical students a year. He is an author of 124 textbook chapters and edited 17 textbooks, including the Handbook of Liver Disease, 4th Edition and Sleisenger and Fordtran’s Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease, 9th Edition. He is a recipient of the American Gastroenterological Association’s Distinguished Educator Award.
Related Authors: Mark Feldman, MD; Lawrence J. Brandt, MD
