“What is diverticulitis?”
I recently had a CT scan done for some digestive troubles I was having, and the doctors said that I could have diverticulitis. What exactly does it mean to have diverticulitis?
3 Answers
The colon sometimes has small pockets or outpouchings, called diverticula. There are usually dozens of these in the colon and as a whole we call this diverticulosis. The diverticulae are areas of relative weakness in the wall of the colon. When one of these diverticula perforates, then a localized inflammation and infection happens and we call this diverticulitis.
Diverticuli are small out-pouchings in the wall of the colon. Having multiple of these out-pouchings is called diverticulosis. But when colonic matter and bacteria get lodged in these out-pouchings and plug them up, an infection may result. This is called diverticulitis, and frequently requires antibiotics for resolution.
If you have diverticulosis then you may be prone to having diverticulitis, which is an inflammation. You need CT scan to confirm the diagnosis, and antibiotics, followed by colonoscopy only after the acute phase has resolved.
