Description:This issue of the critical care focus series addresses issues relating to gastro-intestinal systems relevant to critically ill patients on the Intensive Care Unit. It includes chapters in acute pancreatis, diarrohea, gut finction during enteral feeding, management of fistulae and haemorrhage and the physiology/pathoplogy of mesenteric ischaemia. In addition, the role of the gut in the development of remote organ failure is discussed.