The role of colonoscopy in inflammatory bowel disease

Colonoscopy presents a new way of looking into the bowel of patients with inflammatory bowel disease. The major indications for colonoscopy in patients with inflammatory bowel disease are strictures and filling defects found on barium enema X ray examination, the preoperative evaluation of patients with Crohn's colitis, and the differential diagnosis of the type of colitis. Care must be taken to insure patient safety during the procedure. The information gained from direct visual inspection, biopsies and cytology add a new dimension to our knowledge of inflammatory bowel disease.