Diverticulitis

Diverticulitis is the result of a perforation of a colonic diverticulum. The term is somewhat of a misnomer because the disease is actually an extraluminal pericolic infection caused by the extravasation of feces through the perforated diverticulum.


Peridiverticulitis would actually be the term to more appropriately describe the infectious process. Recognition that the infection is actually caused by a perforation of the colon, an event that is often controlled by the body's natural defenses, provides a basis for understanding the signs and symptoms of the disease as well as the rationale for determining appropriate diagnostic tests and treatment.