Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn’s Disease
Definition:
Ulcerative Colitis is an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that affects the large intestine (colon and rectum). Ulcerative colitis affects only the large intestine.
Crohn’s disease is an inflammatory bowel disease. While Crohn’s can affect any part of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract from mouth to anus.
Ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease
Ulcerative colitis
This is considered to be an autoimmune disease. This is due to inflammation caused by the immune system and mainly occurs in the large intestine.
Signs and symptoms:
The following are the signs and symptoms of Ulcerative colitis.
- Diarrhea, often with blood or pus
- Abdominal pain and cramping
- Rectal pain
- Rectal bleeding, there is passing a small amount of blood with stool
- Urgency to defecate
- Inability to defecate despite urgency
- Weight loss
- Fatigue
- Fever
- In children, failure to grow
Crohn’s disease
Its cause is unknown. Diet and stress were suspected, but now doctors know that these factors may aggravate but don’t cause Crohn’s disease.
A number of factors, such as heredity and a malfunctioning immune system, likely play a role in its development.
Signs and symptoms:
The following are the main signs and symptoms of the active Crohn’s disease.
- Diarrhea with cramps.
- Fever and fatigue.
- Abdominal pain and cramping.
- Blood seen in the stools.
- Mouth ulcers.
- There is a decrease in appetite.
- There is weight loss.
- There is the involvement of the perianal area.
Comparison table
Pathologic findings |
Ulcerative colitis | Crohn’s disease |
Location |
||
| Ileum | — | ++ |
| Rectum | ++ | + — |
| Skip lesion | — | + |
| Continuous involvement of the colon | ++ | — |
| Involvement of Ileum | — | ++ |
Gross appearance |
||
| Broad-based ulcers | ++ | — |
| Strictures | + — | ++ |
| Fissures | + — | ++ |
| Fistulas | + — | ++ |
| Cobblestone appearance (mucosa) | — | ++ |
| Pseudopolyp | ++ | — |
Microscopic appearance |
||
| Crypt abscess | ++ | — |
| Granuloma formation | — | ++ |
| Lymphoid aggregates | — | ++ |
| Fibrosis of the wall | — | ++ |
| Transmural involvement | — | ++ |
Treatment of the Ulcerative Colitis:
It includes:
- Medicine.
- Diet.
- Surgery.