DISEASE
Many
disorders can affect the rectum and anus. Click on
the disease state in the left frame for more detailed information
and photographs. Keep in mind that this information
in no way should dissuade you from discussing your problems
and concerns with a physician. Some rectal problems
can be quite serious, and failing to get diagnosed can result
in devastating disease and possibly death!
Concerns
about colon and/or rectal disease should be brought to the
attention of your primary care physician or gastroenterologist
(a specialist that focuses on diseases of the bowel).
A sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy are special procedures that
allow these physician to get a close-up view of your inner
bowel. In these procedures, a thin flexible tube with
a miniature camera and light is inserted into the anus and
carefully pushed into the colon. Abnormalities of
the bowel wall, including inflammation, cancer, and precancerous
problems (such as polyps, pictured as seen through a colonoscope,
arrow) can be identified and treated. In fact, it
is recommended that all people aged 50 and older should
have a screening sigmoidoscopy every 5 years to be sure
they do not have any precancerous polyps. Polyps in
this stage, before they have had a chance to become cancerous,
are easily removed.
Some
of the most common causes of rectal disease are those due
to sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). STDs cause
many rectal problems and are discussed in our STD
Online Guide. The photographs shows extensive
condyloma accuminata, or venereal warts, around a young
man's anus.
In
some serious illnesses, part of the bowel is removed and
the flow of stool must be diverted from the rectum and anus.
A false hole is surgically constructed through the abdomen,
an ostomy, into which a special apparatus is placed.
In people with an ostomy (e.g., colonostomy, ileostomy),
stool exits the bowel through the ostomy and into a collecting
bag. One can lead a very normal life with an ostomy
despite the unusualness of this apparatus. See our
conclusion section for more information and links on ostomies.
