ABSTRACT
Ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD) are chronic inflammatory disorders of the gastrointestinal tract. CD is characterized by patchy, transmural granulomatous inflammation of any part of the gastrointestinal tract, although it is most common in the ileocaecal area. UC, in contrast to CD, is limited to the colon, is continuous and involves the mucosa without the formation of granulomas. Both diseases are associated with extraintestinal compli-
cations (Table 5.1). The clinical course of some of these complications may parallel that of the underlying bowel disease and thus improve with treatment that is directed primarily against the bowel inflammation.
