diseases
and disorders
not the full list, but a useful
resource
ULCERATIVE
COLITIS & CROHNS
....
DEFINITION
Inflammatory bowel disease includes the inflammatory conditions of the intestine known as ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. Ulcerative colitis involves the colon or large intestine. Crohn's disease can involve any portion of the gastrointestinal tract from mouth to anus but mainly the distal small intestine and colon. Another distinguishing feature of Crohn's disease is that the inflammation characteristically extends through all layers of the intestinal wall. Inflammatory bowel disease occurs slightly more often in women than men and typically is prevalent between the ages of 10 and 40. Those of European Jewish descent, as the Ashkenazi Jews, are at least three times more likely to develop inflammatory bowel disease than the general population.
SYMPTOMS
There are a wide variety of symptoms commonly associated with inflammatory bowel disease and may include fatigue, poor appetite, weight loss, abdominal pain or cramping, diarrhea, bloody diarrhea, fever, arthritis, eye problems, skin changes such as mouth ulcers (aphthous ulcers), and blood vessel problems. Rarely, people may note constipation as a presenting feature. Complications specific to ulcerative colitis include perforation of the colon, dilation of the colon (toxic megacolon) and strictures or narrowing of the colon.
Complications related to Crohn's disease include gall stones, intestinal narrowing leading to obstruction, and abnormal tracts (fistulas) between adjacent tissues. Additionally, one of the first signs of Crohn's disease in children is failure to thrive or poor growth. Inflammatory bowel disease increases the likelihood of gastrointestinal cancers but ulcerative colitis places the patient at a higher risk than Crohn's disease.
CHROHN'S DISEASE
Both ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease can affect the colon.
Widespread, diffuse disease of the colon results in typical features of inflammation including fever, malaise, and loss of appetite. Since the colon absorbs excess water from food matter, impairment of this process can cause diarrhea. Mucosal ulcerations seen in Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis can bleed and can be a cause of chronic anemia. When gut inflammation is particularly aggressive, the disease process can become toxic with impairment of the muscular function of the colon.
Clinical signs of toxic colitis include high fever, distention of the colon, and moderate to even severe abdominal pain.
As in the small bowel, ulceration and inflammation from Crohn's disease can result in strictures of the colon. Obstruction of the passage of bowel contents causes distention, cramps, and loud bowel sounds. Changes in normal stool pattern can result from a bowel stricture and can include episodic diarrhea, constipation, or both.
Inflammation of the rectum increases the sensitivity of this portion of the intestine. Even minimal amounts of liquid or solid stool present in an inflamed rectum can trigger a sense of urgency or need to have a bowel movement. Rectal pain and bleeding can also result from rectal ulceration. Sometimes an irritated rectal wall can cause frequency of bowel movements of up to 10 to 20 times daily.
The inflammatory and ulcerating process of Crohn's disease can affect any portion of the gastrointestinal tract. The most common form of Crohn's disease is ileocolitis affecting both the small bowel and the colon. Crohn's disease isolated to the small bowel and Crohn's disease isolated to the colon are other forms of the disease.
Crohn's disease can also affect any portion of the upper gastrointestinal tract. Aphthous ulcers, similar to small "cold sores" of the mouth, are common in Crohn's disease. Ulcers in the stomach and duodenum occur in Crohn's disease and can be difficult to differentiate from routine peptic ulcer disease.
try...
conditions and diseases