Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Inflammatory Bowel Disease Introduction Inflammatory Bowel Disease, (IBD), is a general term that refers to a chronic inflammatory condition of the alimentary tract. IDB is a disorder that can adopt two forms, either Ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease. Approximately one in six hundred people in the UK have Ulcerative Colitis, (www.ibdclub.org.uk), an inflammatory disease of the large intestine that mainly affects the colon and rectum. The inner lining, or mucosa, becomes irritated and inflamed resulting in ulcers and infections, which are typically accompanied with rectal bleeding. Crohn's disease occurs predominantly at the terminal ileum and the rectum but may become more widespread through out the digestive system. Crohn's disease affects one in a thousand people in the UK, (www.ibdclub.org.uk), and causes irritation to the mucosa and serosa resulting in inflammation of the full thickness of the intestinal wall. The inflammation may cause partial obstruction of the lumen, creating problematic blockages known as skip lesions, (Ross and Wilson. 1999). Crohn's disease may also cause the large and small intestinal walls to ulcerate and bleed. Both males and females are equally susceptible to Inflammatory Bowel Disease, with the majority of cases being diagnosed between the ages of fifteen and thirty-five. It is estimated that thirty percent of all IBD cases occur in young

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  • Subject: Medicine and Dentistry
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