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Diverticulitis
(Diverticulosis)

Medical Author: Jay W. Marks, MD
Medical Editor: William C. Shiel, Jr., MD, FACP, FACR

Is It Really Diverticulitis?

How to know diverticulitis when you see it:

  • When diverticulosis is associated with inflammation and infection the condition is called diverticulitis.
  • Most patients with diverticulosis have few or no symptoms.
  • Abdominal cramping, constipation, diarrhea, bloating can be symptoms of diverticulosis.


Understand what's happening to you:
View this Diverticulitis Slideshow»

What is diverticulitis?

Diverticulitis is a condition in which diverticuli in the colon rupture. The rupture results in infection in the tissues that surround the colon.

What is diverticulosis?

The colon (large intestine) is a long tube-like structure that stores and then eliminates waste material. Pressure within the colon causes bulging pockets of tissue (sacs) that push out from the colonic walls as a person ages. A small bulging sac pushing outward from the colon wall is called a diverticulum. More than one bulging sac is referred to as diverticula. Diverticula can occur throughout the colon but are most common near the end of the left colon called the sigmoid colon. The condition of having these diverticula in the colon is called diverticulosis.

A patient with diverticulosis may have few or no symptoms. When a diverticulum ruptures and becomes infected, the condition is called diverticulitis. A patient suffering from diverticulitis will have abdominal pain, abdominal tenderness, and fever. When bleeding originates from a diverticulum, it is called diverticular bleeding. A patient who suffers the consequences of diverticulosis in the colon is referred to as having diverticular disease.

Diverticular disease is common in the Western world but is extremely rare in areas such as Asia and Africa. Diverticular disease increases with age. It is uncommon before the age of forty, and is seen in more than fifty percent of people over the age of sixty in the United States. Whereas most patients with diverticular disease have no or few symptoms, some patients will develop bleeding, rupture and infection (diverticulitis), constipation, abdominal cramps, and even colonic obstruction.

Picture of Diverticular Disease



Next: How do diverticula form? »

Diverticulitis (Diverticulosis) - Symptoms at Onset of Disease

The MedicineNet physician editors ask:

The symptoms of diverticulitis (diverticulosis) can vary greatly from patient to patient. What were your symptoms at the onset of your disease?

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Diverticulitis (Diverticulosis)

What is a duodenal diverticulum?

A duodenal diverticulum (the plural of which is diverticula) is a pouch attached to the duodenum, the first part of the small intestine just past the stomach.

There are two types of duodenal diverticula. The common type which is present in at least 6% of individuals, is one that sticks out from the duodenum, similar to the more common colonic diverticula. This is referred to as an "extramural" diverticulum. Extramural diverticula may vary in size from a few millimeters to a few centimeters. They usually are located in the area around the Papilla of Vater where the bile and pancreatic ducts enter the duodenum.

A second, rare type of diverticulum is referred to as an "intramural" diverticulum. It does not protrude from the duodenum. Rather, it protrudes into the duodenal lumen (the hollow inside of the duodenum through which digesting food flows). Both types of diverticula, extramural and intramural, comm...

Read the Duodenal Diverticulum article »










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