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Diverticulosis
Make it clearer
Diverticulosis means having diverticula in the colon. A diverticulum is a little pouch: the wall of the colon has spots that are weaker than the rest, and right at those spots a piece of the wall gets pushed outward and stays that way, forming a small sac, like the bulge that swells out of the side of an old tire.
Now, having those pouches is not the same as having them inflamed, and that is where the confusion usually starts, because the two words look so much alike. Diverticulosis names only the fact that the diverticula are there. Diverticulitis names something else: the moment those same diverticula become inflamed.
In brief
Diverticulosis happens when small pouches push outward through weak spots in the wall of the colon.
Diverticulosis and diverticulitis are not synonyms: diverticulitis occurs when those diverticula become inflamed.
Sources (1)
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney DiseasesDefinition & Facts for Diverticular DiseasePublished
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
Updated