Inflammatory bowel disease

Inflammatory bowel disease is "chronic, non-specific inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. Etiology may be genetic or environmental. This term includes Crohn disease and ulcerative colitis."

Classification

Crohn's disease

Crohn's disease is a "chronic transmural inflammation that may involve any part of the digestive tract from mouth to anus, mostly found in the ileum, the cecum, and the colon. In Crohn disease, the inflammation, extending through the intestinal wall from the mucosa to the serosa, is characteristically asymmetric and segmental. Epithelioid granulomas may be seen in some patients.

Ulcerative colitis

Ulcerative colitis is "inflammation of the colon that is predominantly confined to the mucosa. Its major symptoms include diarrhea, rectal bleeding, the passage of mucus, and abdominal pain."