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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.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.²

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

You can get these pouches anywhere in your 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). This part of your large bowel joins onto your 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.²

No one knows exactly why people get diverticula. But you may be more likely to get them if you don’t eat enough fiber.³ Fiber is the part of fruits, vegetables and grains that your body can't digest.

Without enough fiber, you can get 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.²

Your chances of getting diverticular disease increase as you get older. Men and women are equally likely to get it.²

But men are more likely than women to get it before the age of 40.²

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.¹
• Symptomatic diverticulosis (also called diverticular disease): If you get symptoms from diverticula, your doctor may say you have symptomatic diverticulosis or diverticular disease.^{1 2}
• Diverticulitis: In about 10 in 100 to 25 in 100 people with diverticular disease, the diverticula get inflamed or 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, but sometimes you may need an operation to remove the affected part of your colon.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.⁴ To learn more, see What will happen to me?

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. ©BMJ Publishing Group Limited 2008. All rights reserved.