Abstract

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is a pathology of a complex and multifactorial etiology, with both known aspects and others in investigation. Although Crohn's Disease (CD) and Ulcerative Colitis (UC) are considered idiopathic, both genetic and environmental factors have been identified that predispose to these diseases. Depending on the subtype, inflammation may manifest at the colon mucous membrane as in UC, or can be transmural and it may compromise any segment of the digestive tube as in CD. The inflammatory process may extend to extraintestinal areas such as skin, eyes, liver, bile ducts and joints.