ABSTRACT
This content of this chapter will, by definition, be a wide-ranging description of the present state of knowledge pertaining to the colonic consequences of a wide variety of systemic disorders. The common thread that links the content is to focus on the symptoms of colonic disease that can occur in systemic disorders, to explain their pathophysiology and to consider the available treatments. The chapter is not intended to be a complete source of information about the impact of these conditions on the entire digestive tract; for some of the diseases the gastrointestinal burden may either primarily involve the hindgut (such as multiple sclerosis), mostly affect the upper gut (such as diabetes mellitus), or the entire digestive tract (such as systemic sclerosis). It can be seen that there is a wide range of diseases that potentially impact on colonic function, and these will be discussed sequentially, categorized in terms of the organ system that is primarily involved in the systemic disease. The emphasis is to dovetail with the content of the chapter on Miscellaneous Colonic Disorders in this textbook. This chapter will not address the corollary situation, namely the impact of colonic disease (specifically inflammatory bowel disease) on extra-intestinal organs. Greater detail of this aspect is available from recent comprehensive reviews (1).
