Ulcerative colitis causes inflammation of the intestine, which leads to problems such as ulceration and bleeding. This causes symptoms such as abdominal pain and diarrhea. Crohn's disease is a condition which causes inflammation of any part of the gastrointestinal system. When the inflammation is in the area where the small intestine joins the large intestine then it is called Crohn's ileo-colitis. Aminosalicylates are a group of medicines commonly used to treat inflammatory bowel diseases such as these.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original article at https://patient.info/medicine/mesalamine-asacol-pentasa