What are the causes and symptoms of diverticulosis and diverticulitis?
var html_compressed = ‘ by MedExpert ‘; document.write(html_compressed); var html_compressed = ‘ on November 2nd, 2007 ‘; document.write(html_compressed); Diverticula are believed to be caused by overly forceful contractions of the muscular wall of the large intestine. As areas of this wall spasm, they become weaker and weaker, allowing the inner lining to bulge through. The anatomically weakest areas of the intestinal wall occur next to blood vessels which course through the wall, so diverticula commonly occur in this location. Diverticula are most common in the developed countries of the West (North America, Great Britain, northern and western Europe). This is thought to be due to the diet of these countries, which tends to be quite low in fiber. A diet low in fiber results in the production of smaller volumes of stool. In order to move this smaller stool along the colon and out of the rectum, the colon must narrow itself significantly, and does so by contracting down forcefully. Thi
