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What is Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)?
What is IBD?
Inflammatory bowel disease is an umbrella term that covers a group of disorders in which the intestines become inflamed and swollen.
Two of the most common disorders are Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis (UC).
The term IBD can also cover some lesser known conditions, such as Behçet’s disease, microscopic colitis and lymphocytic colitis.
Both Crohn’s and UC share some symptoms, and are both marked by an abnormal immune system response. With these illnesses, the immune system mistakes food and bacteria in the digestive system for foreign bodies and sends white blood cells into the bowels to protect the body. This leads to chronic inflammation in the bowels.
Still, there are some important distinctions between UC and Crohn’s disease.
