Irritable bowel syndrome is a function disease, which means that the disorder is due to the dysfunction of the gastrointestinal tract organs. Scientists assume that it is the nerves in the gastrointestinal tract that makes the organs not work properly. It is one of the common gastrointestinal disorders.

About one of 10 visits to the doctor is a complaint about IBS. Most of them present mild symptoms. Women are three times more likely to have IBS, especially during their period. Although common, irritable bowel syndrome is difficult to diagnose. To be able to confirm the occurrence of IBS, certain gastrointestinal diseases must be ruled out first.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a general term to relapsing, chronic (occurs for a long period of time) inflammatory diseases in the gastrointestinal tract. Its two major types are ulcerative Colitis and Crohn’s Disease. The latter is named after one of the authors of the original description presented in 1932.  In the United States, about 600,000 people have IBD.

What causes inflammatory bowel disease?