Crohn's Colitis
Crohn’s colitis is an inflammatory bowel condition which, unlike ulcerative colitis, may not affect the rectum, and can affect any part of the bowel from the mouth to the anus. Again unlike ulcerative colitis it affects the whole of the bowel wall rather than just the mucosa (the internal lining). The inflamed wall is thickened and may contain swellings, called granulomas, which are characteristic. If the thickening of the wall is severe it may produce obstruction of the bowel, so that as well as diarrhoea, abdominal pain and bleeding patients with Crohn’s disease may present with symptoms of acute blockage of the bowel. The cause of the disease is unknown, but there is evidence of a genetic susceptibility with a strong family association of patients with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis, and there is a possible contribution from an infective agent. Interestingly Crohn’s disease is more likely in cigarette smokers: the opposite is true for ulcerative colitis.
|
