5.5 Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Jill Reid, VCU

5.5 Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) refers to a number of inflammatory conditions in the intestine. The two most common are Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. These two conditions differ mainly in the areas of the intestine that are affected. Crohn’s disease can occur anywhere throughout the GI tract, but most commonly occurs in the last part of the ileum.

Crohn’s disease may also involve all layers of the intestine1. Ulcerative colitis are ulcers, or sores, in the lining of the colon and/or rectum2. It is estimated that up to 1 million people have IBD in the United States. Half of these individuals have Crohn’s disease, and the other half have ulcerative colitis3.

Table 5.51 Differences between Crohn’s disease and Ulcerative colitis.4

Figure 5.51 Illustration of the differences between Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.5

The exact causes of these two diseases is not known. One hypothesized cause for Crohn’s disease is an overactive immune system that results in the chronic inflammation and collateral damage to the cells of the intestine, resulting in formation of lesions. The following videos do a nice job of illustrating the possible causes of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

Required Web Link Video: Pathology of Crohn’s disease (6:37) Video: Ulcerative Colitis (4:48)

Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis present symptoms similar to other gastrointestinal diseases, such as irritable bowel syndrome and GERD.4 However, there are areas where the symptoms of the two do not overlap. Table 5.52 lists the typical symptoms of each.