Ulcerative Colitis Research Paper

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic, or long lasting disease of the large intestine, also known as the colon. The lining of the colon becomes inflamed and develops tiny open sores, or ulcers, that produces pus and mucous (1). In other words, the digestive system is affected by this disease. Ulcerative colitis is a disease of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, called inflammatory bowl disease (IBD) (2). The inflammation usually occurs in the rectum and the lower part of the colon, though it may affect most of the organ (3). This essay, is about the ulcerative colitis disease. What if affects, and in turn what impacts that has on the our body systems and the potential treatment for this chronic disease. It is written because one of my family members has ulcerative colitis since she was 29 years old, and I want to look into what this affects the body systems.
The intestines in our body are a long tube running from the stomach to the anus.
The reason why most absorption of nutrients and water happen in the intestines, is because the colon accepts what the small intestine doesn't absorb. The intestines include the small intestine, large intestine, and rectum (4). The rectum is the concluding part of the large intestine that terminates in the anus. This is where the water from the chyme, the stomach’s gastric juices which breaks down proteins and kills harmful bacteria, is absorbed back into the body (8). The key role of the rectum is to acts as a temporary storehouse for feces until they are eliminated from the body through defecation
(5).

In general, digestion begins in the mouth. Saliva, contains enzymes, which helps breaks down starch. Our teeth helps to break down the food into simpler substances. Food is pushed down the esophagus when you swallow. At this point, digestion becomes involuntary. A series of muscular contractions, called peristalsis, transports the food through the rest of the system. The chyme mixes with digestive enzymes into the gallbladder and then into the small intestine. The nutrients move into the bloodstream and are later transported to the liver. The excess material that is left goes into the large intestine and at the same time, feces are being formed and are eliminated through the anus (8). The liver creates glucose from sugars and carbohydrates to give the body energy as it is the main source of "fuel" for our cells. When the body doesn’t need to use any more glucose for energy, it is stored in the liver and muscles (9). It also converts dietary proteins into new proteins and breaks down unwanted chemicals, such as alcohol (8).

The need to use the toilet is triggered when stool, or feces enters the rectum. If we suppress this urge, meaning that we decide to not go to the toilet, the rectum will temporarily store the stool. How often bowel movements occur varies greatly depending on how rich our diet in fiber and who we are. Each individual is different, and wether your bowel evacuation happens three time a day or three times a week are completely normal (6). However, if you feel the urge to go to the toilet, but nothing passes, or you need to use the toilet consistently (mostly for diarrheas) then you should contact your doctor, because those are frequent symptoms of ulcerative colitis. According to researchers at the University of California, in severe cases, patients can suffer from diarrheas 10 to 20 times a day (10).