What is diverticular disease
The large bowel becomes deformed in diverticular disease. The muscles appear to be permanently contracted so that the colon can be shortened and more corrugated. The bowel wall becomes ruptured particularly next to it’s blood vessels and pressure forces the inner layers to protrude through the wall to produce the characteristic grape-like pouches on the outside of the colon. There can be few of these pouches – called diverticula – or the whole colon can be affected. Similarly there can be a wide range of symptoms, but nobody knows how to stop the possible progression of the disease from symptomless, to a chronic, debilitating and recurring syndrome and on to life-threatening complications. Death rates in this country started at nil and have risen throughout the 20th century. With any other complaint, this statistic alone would prompt an outcry for research into causes, prevention and treatment. (more…)