What is Colonic diverticular disease?

Colonic diverticular disease

What is colonic diverticular disease?

Lots of people have small pouches that bulge outward from their gut wall. Doctors call these diverticula. Usually these pouches don't cause any symptoms, so many people never know they have them. If the pouches do make you ill, your doctor may say you have diverticular disease.

Diverticula are a bit like the parts of an inner tube that poke through weak places in a tire.

Source:
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
Diverticulosis and diverticulitis.
October 2005. Available at http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov (accessed on 26 September 2007).

¹ You can have just one of these pouches (when it would be called a diverticulum). But most people have more than one. Some people have hundreds.

Source:
Stollman N, Raskin J.
Diverticular disease of the colon.
Lancet. 2004; 363: 631-639.

Diverticula are usually quite small. Most measure about a quarter to half an inch across. But some can be more than an inch across.

Diverticula are puches that bulge out of your intestine (your bowel).

You can get these pouches anywhere in your

gastrointestinal
Relating to the length of bowel from the mouth to the anus including the esophagus, stomach, and small and large intestines.

gastrointestinal tract, including in your throat (in your esophagus, the tube that connects your mouth to your stomach), in your stomach and in your small intestine (the part of your gut just after your stomach, also called your small bowel).

But most happen in the last part of your large bowel (your large bowel is also called your

colon
Your colon is the first 2 metres (6 feet) of your large intestine. During digestion, food travels from your stomach to your small intestine and then to your large intestine. What's not digested then leaves your body as a bowel movement.

colon). This part of your large bowel joins onto your

rectum
The rectum is the last six to eight inches of the large intestine, ending with the anus (where you empty your bowels).

rectum and is where stools stay before you go to the bathroom.

¹ It's called the sigmoid colon, and it is on the left side of your abdomen. But if you're Asian you might get diverticula higher up in your colon.

Source:
Stollman N, Raskin J.
Diverticular disease of the colon.
Lancet. 2004; 363: 631-639.

No one knows exactly why people get diverticula. But you may be more likely to get them if you don’t eat enough

fiber
Fiber is all the parts of your diet that your body can't absorb. This is why foods that are high in fiber make you have more bowel movements. When your body can't absorb something, it leaves your body in your stools. Foods high in fiber include wholemeal bread and cereals, root vegetables and fruits.

fiber.

Source:
Painter NS, Burkett DP.
Diverticular disease of the colon: a 20th Century problem.
Clinical Gastroenterology. 1975; 4: 3-21.

³ Fiber is the part of fruits, vegetables and grains that your body can't digest.

Without enough fiber, you can get

constipated
When you're constipated, you have difficulty passing stools (feces). Your bowel movements may be dry and hard. You may have fewer bowel movements than usual, and it may be a strain when you try to go.

constipated. Your stools become hard and difficult to pass. If you strain to pass these stools, you put pressure on the inside surface of your colon. Doctors think this can cause diverticula.

Source:
Stollman N, Raskin J.
Diverticular disease of the colon.
Lancet. 2004; 363: 631-639.

Your chances of getting diverticular disease increase as you get older. Men and women are equally likely to get it.

Source:
Stollman N, Raskin J.
Diverticular disease of the colon.
Lancet. 2004; 363: 631-639.

But men are more likely than women to get it before the age of 40.

Source:
Stollman N, Raskin J.
Diverticular disease of the colon.
Lancet. 2004; 363: 631-639.

The names for conditions that can happen in diverticula can be confusing. Here are some that you may hear about.

Diverticulosis: If you've got diverticula but you don't have any symptoms, your doctor may say you have diverticulosis. About 70 in 100 to 80 in 100 people with diverticula have diverticulosis. Your doctor may find out about your pouches during tests you’re having for another reason: for example, during a screening test for colon cancer.

Source:
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
Diverticulosis and diverticulitis.
October 2005. Available at http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov (accessed on 26 September 2007).

¹
Symptomatic diverticulosis (also called diverticular disease): If you get symptoms from diverticula, your doctor may say you have symptomatic diverticulosis or diverticular disease.

Source:
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
Diverticulosis and diverticulitis.
October 2005. Available at http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov (accessed on 26 September 2007).

¹

Source:
Stollman N, Raskin J.
Diverticular disease of the colon.
Lancet. 2004; 363: 631-639.

²
Diverticulitis: In about 10 in 100 to 25 in 100 people with diverticular disease, the diverticula get

inflammation
If your skin or some other part of your body becomes red, swollen, hot or sore, we say it is inflamed. It means that your body is trying to protect you from germs, from something in your body tissues that can hurt you (like a thorn or sliver), or from things that cause allergies (allergens). Inflammation is part of the way the body heals an infection or injury.

inflamed or

infection
You get an infection when viruses, bacteria, fungi or other tiny organisms get into your body. These bugs are so tiny that you can't see them without a microscope. For example, an infection in your airways causes the common cold. And an infection in your skin can cause rashes such as athlete's foot.

infected at some time in their life. This is called diverticulitis. This usually clears up in a few days if you have treatment with

antibiotics
These medications are used to help your immune system fight infection. There are a number of different types of antibiotics that work in different ways to get rid of bacteria, parasites and other infectious agents. Antibiotics do not work against viruses.

antibiotics, but sometimes you may need an operation to remove the affected part of your colon.

Source:
Salzman H, Lillie D.
Diverticular disease: diagnosis and treatment.
American Family Physician. 2005; 72: 1229-1234.

⁴ If you have diverticulitis, you may get serious complications, such as a ball of infected pus (called an abscess) or a blockage in your colon so that you can't pass stools.

Source:
Salzman H, Lillie D.
Diverticular disease: diagnosis and treatment.
American Family Physician. 2005; 72: 1229-1234.

⁴ To learn more, see What will happen to me?

Sources for the information on this page:

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Diverticulosis and diverticulitis.October 2005. Available at http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov (accessed on 26 September 2007).

Stollman N, Raskin J.Diverticular disease of the colon.Lancet. 2004; 363: 631-639.

Painter NS, Burkett DP.Diverticular disease of the colon: a 20th Century problem.Clinical Gastroenterology. 1975; 4: 3-21.

Salzman H, Lillie D.Diverticular disease: diagnosis and treatment.American Family Physician. 2005; 72: 1229-1234.

This information was last updated on Nov 12, 2007

This information is for educational use only, and is not a substitute for prompt professional medical advice. Readers should always consult a physician or other professional for advice and treatment.
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