How Does CD Affect the Digestive System?

Crohn's disease is characterized by chronic inflammation in one or multiple areas of the gastrointestinal tract. Inflammation is the body's response to an abnormal physical, chemical, or biological stimulation, such as injury or infection. Complex reactions in the affected area produce heat, redness, swelling, and pain as the body works to heal an injury or destroy an infection.

In both Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, evidence suggests that either the body's inflammatory response is triggered when it shouldn't be, or it is triggered appropriately but fails to turn itself off after it has completed its job.