What is microscopic colitis?
Microscopic colitis is an inflammatory disease of the colon that causes chronic diarrhea and sometimes abdominal pain. Because the majority of the inflammation can only be visualized using a microscope of biopsies, it is called “microscopic”. Although originally the colon seen at colonoscopy was thought to be normal, it is routine to notice patchy areas of mild redness and swelling. In fact, I (Dr. Fine) can routinely tell by looking at the surface of the colon with a scope if it is going to be inflamed or not (because of experience). I say this because sometimes, visualization of these changes leads to an errant diagnosis of ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, or other forms of colitis. The latest finding I have become familiar with (although I have never experienced because I perform flexible sigmoidoscopies rather than the more risky colonoscopy) is a splitting of the surface of the colon resulting from air insufflation during the time of colonoscopy. This complication appears as a
