Ostomy Health Article

ORGANIZATIONS

Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America, Inc. 386 Park Avenue South 17th Floor New York, NY 10016-8804.(800) 932-2423 or (212) 685-3440.

International Foundation for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders. P.O. Box 17864 Milwaukee, WI 53217. (414) 964-1799.

National Digestive Diseases Clearinghouse. 2 Information Way Bethesda, MD 20892-3570. <http://www.niddk.nih.gov/>.

United Ostomy Association. 19772 MacArthur Boulevard, Suite 200 Irvine, CA 92612-2405. (800) 826-0826 or (949) 660-8624.

Gary A. Gilles

KEY TERMS

Crohn's disease—A chronic inflammatory disease, primarily involving the small and large intestine, but which can affect other parts of the digestive system as well.

Diverticulitis—Inflammation of the diverticula (small outpouchings) along the wall of the colon, the large intestine.

Familial polyposis—An inherited condition in which several hundred polyps develop in the colon and rectum.

Hirschsprung disease—Hirschsprung disease is a congenital abnormality (birth defect) of the bowel in which there is absence of the ganglia (nerves) in the wall of the bowel. Nerves are missing starting at the anus and extending a variable distance up the bowel. This results in megacolon (massive enlargement of the bowel) above the point where the nerves are missing. (The nerves are needed to assist in the natural movement of the muscles in the lining of the bowels that move bowel contents through.)

Ileum—The lowest part of the small intestine, located beyond the duodenum and jejunum, just before the large intestine (the colon).

Imperforate anus—A congenital malformation (a birth defect) in which the rectum is a blind alley (a cul-de-sac) and there is no anus.

Spina bifida—A birth defect (a congenital malformation) in which there is a bony defect in the vertebral column so that part of the spinal cord, which is normally protected within the vertebral column, is exposed. People with spina bifida can suffer from bladder and bowel incontinence, cognitive (learning) problems and limited mobility.