Biopsy of the gastrointestinal tract has been revolution­ less busy) teaching hospital. These sort of techniques, which I confess interest me greatly because of the ized by the introduction of fibreoptics; the proximal additional information which they can yield when rightly reaches, as far as the second part of the duodenum, and chosen, are naturally linked with improved methods of the whole large bowel back to the caecum can now be tissue preservation in general, bearing in mind that the sampled under direct vision and multiple small biopsies need for special techniques often becomes apparent can be obtained. Only in the jejunum and ileum are there only when the biopsy has been conventionally still limitations on the sampling of localized as opposed to generalized conditions. The sheer volume of gastro­ processed and examined. However, I have firmly intestinal material passing through our own laboratories stabled this hobbyhorse and have included little that has risen steeply over the last years to form some 25% cannot be done in a district general hospital and nothing that I am not prepared to do myself. I have tried to of the total current work load and the rise continues; stress, particularly, common lesions which can cause nearly all of it is in biopsy form rather than as resected specimens.

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1 Handling and reporting of biopsy material.- 2 Oesophagus: normal biopsy appearances.- 3 Oesophagus: non-neoplastic diseases.- 4 Oesophagus: dysplasia and neoplasia.- 5 Stomach: normal biopsy appearances.- 6 Stomach: gastritis and peptic ulceration.- 7 Stomach: non-neoplastic polypoidal lesions.- 8 Stomach: epithelial dysplasia and neoplasia.- 9 Stomach: non-epithelial tumours.- 10 Small intestine: normal biopsy appearances.- 11 Small intestine: patterns of non-infective mucosal damage.- 12 Small intestine: patterns of infective and inflammatory mucosal damage.- 13 Small intestine: disorders of lymphoid tissue and the gut-associated immune system.- 14 Small intestine: miscellaneous conditions.- 15 Large intestine and anal canal: normal biopsy appearances.- 16 Large intestine and anal canal: patterns of non-infective inflammatory bowel disease.- 17 Large intestine and anal canal: patterns of infective and inflammatory bowel disease.- 18 Large intestine and anal canal: ischaemic and related lesions.- 19 Large intestine and anal canal: polypoid epithelial lesions and associated dysplasias.- 20 Large intestine and anal canal: dysplasias and malignant neoplasms.- 21 Large intestine and anal canal: miscellaneous lesions.