The authors of the first three Czech textbooks of internal medicine in the second half of the 19 th and first half of the 20 th century – Emerich Maixner, Josef Thomayer and Josef Pelnář – dealt in the gastroenterological chapters of their textbooks in detail with functional digestive disorders and dyspepsias. Although they explai- ned dyspeptic complaints, consistent with then prevailing views, mainly by impaired gastric secretion, which later proved unsubstantiated, their concept of functional gastric disorders formed the foundation of Czech tradition which was to be preserved, modified and developed by further generations.

        Key words: functional gastric disorders – dyspepsias – internal medicine – Bohemia