Diagnosing Ulcerative Colitis

Diagnosing Ulcerative Colitis

The best way of diagnosing ulcerative colitis is with colonoscopy, a procedure in which a camera on the end of a long flexible tube is passed through the anus and into the colon and then traverses the entire colon. Although ulcerative colitis also can be diagnosed by barium enema, a procedure that requires X-rays of a barium-filled colon, colonoscopy is more sensitive, that is, it identifies lower levels of inflammation than can be identified by barium enema. Colonoscopy also allows biopsies to be taken of the colonic lining to confirm the diagnosis.