Definition

Crohn's disease (pronounced krohnz) is a type of inflammatory bowel disease. It results in swelling of the intestinal tract. It may also restrict the function of the intestinal tract.

Description

The term inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) refers to a large group of disorders that affect the gastrointestinal (digestive) system. The gastrointestinal (GI) system includes the stomach, small intestine, and large intestine. For reasons that are still not understood, portions of the GI system sometimes become inflamed. Researchers think that the body's immune system may sometimes cause this inflammation. It attacks the lining of the GI system the way it normally attacks invading foreign bodies.

Two of the most important of these disorders are Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis (see ulcerative colitis entry). These disorders differ from each other in two primary ways:

• The inflammation caused by Crohn's disease may occur in...