[Irritable bowel syndrome: the challenge to psychosomatic and internal medical specialists to collaborate closely].

The irritable bowel syndrome is a ubiquitous disease that usually exhibits a close affinity to the group of somatoform disorders. Chronic cases in particular often suffer from psychological disturbances, and consult numerous different medical, mainly internistic-gastroenterological, treatment centers, not infrequently with no lasting success. Although the importance of gastroenterological pathophysiological aspects is beyond doubt, an early...