Crohn's Disease
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), is made up of two conditions: Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Crohn’s disease is an acute and chronic inflammatory bowel disease that may affect any part of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. It mainly affects the terminal ileum, which is located at the very end of the small intestine, but also can affect the proximal colon, which is located at the beginning of the large intestine. The entire gastrointestinal tract from the mouth to anus are involved with this disease. “The disease occurs frequently among children, adolescents, and young adults, but is increasing in people over the age of 60. There is a light female to male predominance” (Kiple, 1993, p. 801). Crohn’s