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?

Bowel diseases refer to a variety of diseases and disorders in the gastrointestinal tract. The most common are ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, irritable bowel syndrome, megacolon and ischemia. These diseases may present similar symptoms and may be present at the same time. The following are the descriptions of these bowel diseases.

Bowel disease #1: Ulcerative colitis