Date: The discussions and individual presentations in the educational series AGA Forum were videotaped and first published, on CD-ROM, in 2003.

 Purpose: This educational series does not recommend or propose medical treatment. Its intent is to provide a snapshot of current practice, as discussed by qualified medical experts, for general professional reference.

 Style: The transcript of these audio-visual discussions and single-theme presentations is presented as far as possible uncut, in a verbatim, colloquial form.

 Comprehension: The idiom is North American English, with frequent reference to professional settings and technical and scientific terms in medicine, covering a broad range of disciplines and subjects.