Dr. Ben Wedro practices emergency medicine at Gundersen Clinic, a regional trauma center in La Crosse, Wisconsin. His background includes undergraduate and medical studies at the University of Alberta, a Family Practice internship at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario and residency training in Emergency Medicine at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.
Colitis is inflammation of the inner lining of the colon and can be associated with
abdominal pain, bloating, and
blood in the stool. This
inflammation may be due to a variety of reasons, including the following:
invasion of the colon wall
with lymphocytic white blood cells or collagen.
Anatomy of the colon
The colon, or large intestine, is a hollow, muscular tube that processes waste products of digestion from the small intestine, removes water and ultimately eliminates the remnants as feces (stool) through the anus. The colon is located within the abdominal cavity, the sac that contains the intestine.
The colon is surrounded by many layers of tissue. The innermost layer of the colon is the mucosa that comes into contact with the waste products of digestion. is The mucosa absorbs water and
electrolytes back into the blood vessels that are located just below the surface in the submucosa. This is surrounded by a circular layer of muscles and then another outer layer of longitudinal muscles that run along the length of the colon. The muscles work together to help rhythmically squeeze liquid waste from the cecum through the entire length of the colon. Water is gradually removed, turning the waste into formed stool, so that it is excreted out of the anus in solid form.
The colon frames the organs within the peritoneum and its segments are named based on their location.
The colon begins in the right lower quadrant of the abdomen, where the
terminal ileum, the last part of the small intestine, attaches to the cecum, the first segment of the colon. The appendix is attached to the cecum.
The ascending colon begins at the cecum and arises from the right lower abdomen to the right upper abdomen near the liver.
The colon then makes a sharp left turn called the hepatic flexure (hepatic=liver), and is
referred to as the transverse colon, as it makes its way to the left upper quadrant of the abdomen near the spleen.
There is a sharp downward turn called the splenic flexure, and it is
referred to as the descending colon as it runs from the left upper quadrant to the left lower quadrant of the abdomen.
When it descends into the pelvis, it is referred to as the sigmoid colon.
The last several centimeters of the colon are referred to as the rectum.
Viewer Question: I was tested and told I have microscopic colitis, it seems that i have constant dull pain at bottom rib cage, also my joints all over my body are always stiff sore, could the stiff sore joints,
shoulders, hips etc, have anything to do with the microscopic colitis?
Doctor's Response: The primary symptom of microscopic colitis is chronic, watery diarrhea. Patients with microscopic colitis can have diarrhea for months or years before the diagnosis is made. The chronic diarrhea of microscopic colitis is different from the acute diarrhea of infectious colitis which typically lasts only days to one week.