Ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease are the two main forms of inflammatory bowel diseases. They are both conditions characterized by chronic inflammation of the digestive tract. Although they share many similarities, there are key differences between the two diseases.
The causes of both UC and Crohn's disease are not known and both diseases have similar types of contributing factors such as environmental, genetic and an inappropriate response by the body's immune system
The differences between ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease are:
Approximately 10% of cases of inflammatory bowel diseases exhibit the features of both Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. These are typically known as indeterminate colitis.