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Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Ulcerative Colitis

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Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Ulcerative Colitis Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) refers to a variety of conditions in which a chronic immune response and inflammation occur throughout the gastrointestinal tract. Inflammatory Bowel Diseases are triggered by an abnormal response by the body’s immune system. In a normal functioning immune system, the cells protect the body from infection. However, in those who are suffering from IBD, the immune system mistakes bacteria, food, and other materials in the intestine as foreign substances and attack the cells in the intestines. As an immune response, the body sends white blood cells to the lining of the intestines, ultimately causing a chronic inflammation and the patient then experiences a variety of symptoms.
Symptoms of an IBD can vary, depending on the severity and location of the inflammation. Common symptoms of an inflammatory bowel disease include abdominal pain and cramping that usually disappear after a bowel movement, constipation or difficulty passing stool, diarrhea, fever, gastrointestinal bleeding, gurgling or splashing sound heard over the intestine, nausea and vomiting, pain in the joints, and undesired weight loss. Since these symptoms can indicate a number of possible diseases, it can be difficult to determine the correct diagnoses. The two main types of IBD are Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis, but determining a patient’s exact diagnoses can be challenging.
Although Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative

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