This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Go to /pro/cpd-dashboard page

This page is worth 0.05 CPD credits. CPD dashboard

Go to /account/subscription-details page

This page is worth 0.05 CPD credits. Upgrade to Pro

Inflammatory bowel disease

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) term embraces a group of idiopathic chronic inflammatory intestinal conditions which include two main disease categories with similar, but distinct, pathological conditions:

  • ulcerative colitis
  • Crohn's disease (1)

The pathogenesis of IBD is unknown (1). There are many overlapping clinical, radiological, endoscopic, and histological characteristics, but equally, there are clear differences in the distribution and depth of inflammation within the gastrointestinal tract.

Crohn's disease is a transmural process that may affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract, whereas in uncomplicated ulcerative colitis, inflammation is confined to the colonic mucosa.

In cases of inflammatory bowel disease that are difficult to distinguish, specialised investigations are available. For example, some cases of ulcerative colitis are ANCA-positive and expression of CD44v6 and v3 epitopes in crypt epithelial cells has been noted.

Patients with insufficient findings to determine whether they have Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis are said to have indeterminate colitis. Around 10% of children with IBD have indeterminate colitis (5).

Reference:


Create an account to add page annotations

Annotations allow you to add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation. E.g. a website or number. This information will always show when you visit this page.

The content herein is provided for informational purposes and does not replace the need to apply professional clinical judgement when diagnosing or treating any medical condition. A licensed medical practitioner should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.

Connect

Copyright 2024 Oxbridge Solutions Limited, a subsidiary of OmniaMed Communications Limited. All rights reserved. Any distribution or duplication of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited. Oxbridge Solutions receives funding from advertising but maintains editorial independence.