The Department of Gastroenterology was founded in the 1950s, and is the national key clinical specialty, one of the digestive endoscopy training base of the Ministry of Health, and the disease quality control center of digestive medicine of Hubei Province.

Every year, more than 140,000 patients with digestive conditions are seen and treated in the Department of Gastroenterology at Union Hospital.

Their gastroenterology resources include the latest endoscopic equipment, minimally invasive techniques and motility equipment. They have magnetically controlled capsule gastroscope, capsule colonoscopy, spy glass, confocal endoscopy, etc. In addition to routine gastroenteroscopy, magnifying endoscopy and staining endoscopy are used for the screening of the early cancer. Besides diagnosis, almost all types of endoscopic treatment techniques, such as POEM, ESD, STER, the rapeutic ERCP, cholangiopancreatoscopy, and ultrasound endoscopy could be performed.

In 1978, they began to study the gastrointestinal motility, and the first digestive motility recording equipment in China was developed. After that, they keep focusing on the clinical practice and research of gastrointestinal motility disease. Patients have access to state-of-the-art diagnostic and treatment facilities at the motility center. High resolution manometry, 24 hour pH-impedance monitoring, biofeedback, colon transit test, breath tests, etc. are routinely used for the management of motility diseases.

With 10 specialty groups and more than 50 digestive disease specialists, they are able to provide high quality medical service for patients with esophagus, stomach, small bowel, colon, pancreas, liver and bile ducts.

Each year, more than 20 postgraduates and doctoral candidates are trained and more than 60 physicians and nurses receive further education here. Since 2001, more than 50 scientific projects have been funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and more than 600 papers have been published in total.