What is UC
Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic relapsing and remitting inflammatory condition of the large intestine. (Inflammation is a localized protective reaction of tissue to irritation, injury, or infection. It is characterized by pain, redness, swelling, and sometimes loss of function.)
Ulcerative means a loss of the surface lining, and colitis means inflammation of that lining or mucosa. The inflammation is caused by an abnormal invasion of white blood cells into the mucosa. The exact cause of this attack is not known, but it is thought that a combination of genetic and environmental factors causes the immune system to react aggressively against the normal bacteria that inhabit the colon...