Definition



Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) refers to both idiopathic ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, important chronic medical disorders of unknown etiology. For convenience, ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease will be discussed together as IBD in order to emphasize their similarities and to point out their differences. In general IBD is more common in whites than in nonwhites, is equal in men and women, and is most common in Ashkenazic Jews. The incidence of UC is some­what greater than that of Crohn’s disease, but the latter seems to be increasing in incidence. Symp­toms characteristically begin in early adult life (15 to 30 years) but may begin at any age. A compar­ison of the pathological and clinical features of UC and Crohn’s disease is given in.