Diverticulitis
(Diverticulosis, Diverticular Disease)

• Most patients with diverticulosis (diverticular disease) have few or no symptoms.
• Abdominal pain, constipation, and diarrhea, can occur with diverticulosis.
• Diverticulosis can be diagnosed with barium X-rays or with sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy.
• Treatment of diverticulosis can include high fiber diet, and anti-spasmodic drugs.
• When diverticulosis is associated with inflammation and infection the condition is called diverticulitis. Together, diverticulosis and its complications, including diverticulitis, sometimes are referred to as diverticular disease.
• Complications of diverticulosis and diverticulitis include rectal bleeding, abdominal infections, and colon obstruction.

The colon (large intestine) is a long tube-like structure that stores and then eliminates waste material left over after digestion of food in the small intestine takes place. Pressure within the colon causes bulging pockets of tissue (sacs) that push out from the colonic walls as a person ages. A small bulging sac pushing outward from the colon wall is called a diverticulum. More than one bulging sac is referred to in the plural as diverticula. Diverticula can occur throughout the colon but are most common near the end of the left colon, referred to as the sigmoid colon, in Western countries. In Asia, the diverticula occur mostly on the right side of the colon. The condition of having these diverticula in the colon is called diverticulosis.

Diverticula are common in the Western world but are rare in areas such as Asia and Africa. Diverticula increase with age. They are uncommon before the age of 40, and are seen in more than 40% of people over the age of 60 years in the U.S. A person with diverticulosis usuallY has few or no symptoms. The most common symptoms associated with diverticulosis are abdominal pain, constipation, and diarrhea. In some of these patients the symptoms may be due to the concomitant presence of irritable bowel syndrome or abnormalities in the function of the muscles of the sigmoid colon; simple diverticula should cause no symptoms. Occasionally, bleeding originates from a diverticulum, and it is referred to as diverticular bleeding.

When a diverticulum ruptures and infection sets in around the diverticulum, the condition is called diverticulitis. An individual suffering from diverticulitis often has abdominal pain, abdominal tenderness, colonic obstruction and fever.

Source: MedicineNet.com
http://www.medicinenet.com/diverticulosis/article.htm