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Ulcerative colitis is a chronic inflammatory disease of the large intestine that is diagnosed in about five of very 10,000 people. Inflammation usually starts in the rectum and my spread to other areas of the colon. It may be difficult for your physician to identify UC and to distinguish it from Crohn's Disease or other types of colitis. Your physician may, therefore, perform one or more colonoscopy examinations and obtain biopsy specimens for microscopic examination by a surgical pathologist. The pathologist may establish the diagnosis of UC and will determine whether dysplasia, cancer or other abnormalities are present.