I’m writing a piece of fiction, and it just occurred to me (for reasons not worth explaining in GQ) that my protagonist should be a liver specialist.
I know nothing about this specialty, including what it’s called, but could bear to learn:
the name of the specialty
large general issues (like diseases of the liver) that recur frequently
some examples of areas a liver specialist might be doing research in
any issues where a fine measurement, particularly that of time, would come in
Number four could relate to any specialty, not necessarily liver-related. I’m thinking of medical issues where, say, the exact timing of an injected medicine reaching a particular body part (liver or brain or kidney, say) would be measurable.
Also any common medical terminology related to the liver would be good. I’m basically trying to make this person’s professional life (which isn’t very large in my story) seem plausible, so I can entertain a wide variety of suggestions.
Thanks for your contribution to fiction-writing, and for saving me hours of research.
Googled it and got this… hope it helps:
From: THIS WEBSITE
The Hepatologist
A hepatologist is the most experienced and qualified type of doctor to treat people with liver disease. Since there is currently no separate board certification examination in the field of hepatology, there is no official definition of a hepatologist.
Considering how important your liver is to keeping you healthy, I’m a little alarmed that it’s apparently not considered worthy of a fully recognized specialty.
Hepatologists (doctors who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of liver disease)
Santiago Munoz, MD, FACP
Chairman, Division of Hepatology,
Director, Albert Einstein Center for Liver Disease
Santiago Munoz, MD, FACP is a liver disease expert who has a special interest in chronic virus hepatitis, autoimmune hepatitis, biliary cirrhosis, hemochromatosis, Wilson’s disease, and other liver disorders. Dr. Munoz is actively engaged in numerous clinical studies and research projects involving liver failure and chronic hepatitis C virus. He was named 2003 Physician of the Year by the Delaware Valley Chapter of the American Liver Foundation. Dr. Munoz was also recently named among Philadelphia magazine’s “Top Docs.”
Nothing in the linked site suggests that Dr. Munoz is a “hepatologist.” He is a fellow of the American College of Physicians -i.e. an internist-but not necessarily a Fellow of the American College of Hepatologists. He’s just evidently really, really into livers. Also, even if Albert Einstein had a “Center for Uvula Disease,” it doesn’t mean that there’s such a thing as a “Uvula-ologist.”
The factual answer is Gastroenterologist. The liver is embryonically and functionally part of the digestive system. If you have a liver problem, you see a Gastroenterologist.
Liver diseases cover a lot because of all the things the liver does. Common ones that immediately come to mind are cirrhosis (not necessarily alcohol related), hepatitis (not necessarily viral related), liver cancer, hyperbilirubinemia of varying causes, coagulopathies occasionally.
Areas for a liverologist… hmmm, don’t know any specifics. All of the above diseases (eg hepatitis vaccines)
Exact timing with liver… I don’t know the specifics, but you might look into a HIDA scan. For other specialties you should look at timing the injection of contrast to look at a lung CAT scan and similar such procedures.
I’d expect most hepatologists to start out their lives as internists (a boarded specialty), then do a fellowship in gastro-enterology (a boarded subspecialty), and probably take some of their GI fellowship studies specifically in the liver. I’d say that any gastro-enterologist can rightly call themselves a specialist in liver diseases.
I’d posit that as the Hepatitis C epidemic becomes more prevalent, creating more demand for liver specialists, we may see hepatologists decide to become boarded.