Colitis Treatment and Symptoms: Can I live a normal life with ulcerative colitis?
The colon is that part of the intestine that contains the stool. It stores and conveys these completely altered food contents, now the waste products, from that part of the intestine where the digestive work is performed to the rectum, from which they are passed out. This portion of the intestine has little important function other than absorbing water and holding the stool. One can live without most or all of this part of the bowel. The length of the small intestine is several times that of the colon. It is called small because its lumen is narrower than that of the colon. All the digestive processes are completed in the small intestine. In its wall and lumen the digestive juices of the liver, pancreas and intestine act on the food to convert it to the basic nutrients required for growth and nutrition. Normal nutrition requires that several feet of the small bowel exist and function normally. Colitis is an inflammation of the intestine. The terminal part of the small intestine an...