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Diverticulitis
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Diverticulitis is inflammation of the diverticula. A diverticulum is a pouch that bulges outward from the wall of the digestive tract: picture a garden hose with little balloons poking out through its wall. These pouches show up mostly in the colon, which is the large intestine, and especially in the sigmoid colon, its S-shaped final stretch. Having diverticula is called diverticulosis, and it usually causes no symptoms. Diverticulitis starts when those pouches become inflamed or infected.
How does it happen? The presumed explanation goes like this: a bit of stool plugs the diverticulum, like a cork in the neck of a bottle. That lets bacteria grow more than they should. Then the mucosa, the inner layer that lines the intestine, becomes inflamed, and microperforations form, which are tiny holes in the wall. That said, this theory has been called into question, so it isn't a settled explanation.
Acute diverticulitis, meaning an active episode, is suspected when there's fever and pain in the abdomen. And the symptom it most often shows up with is pain low on the left side of the belly, the area known as the left lower quadrant.
In brief
Diverticulitis is inflammation or infection of diverticula, pouches that bulge outward from the wall of the digestive tract, most often in the colon and especially the sigmoid colon. Having diverticula, called diverticulosis, usually causes no symptoms.
Stool is thought to block the diverticulum, leading to bacterial overgrowth, mucosal inflammation, and microperforations, though this theory has been challenged.
Acute diverticulitis is suspected when someone has fever and abdominal pain; pain in the lower left abdomen (the left lower quadrant) is the most common presenting symptom.
Sources (1)
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingDiverticular Disease of the Colon, StatPearlsPublished
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
Updated