Polyps
In Crohn’s disease, part of the body’s defense to the inflammation present in the gut is to secrete high amounts of mucous membrane as an agent to help sooth the affected areas. Abnormal tissue growth extending from these areas are called polyps. Polyps may be benign, but in all cases they pose the threat of becoming cancerous and therefore increase that risk in patients affected by them.
Polyps often appear around the most diseased areas of the small or large intestine in Crohn’s patients, and are characterized by severe pain whenever stool passes through those specific areas. Those present in the large intestine can sometimes be biopsied (removed for laboratory tissue sampling) during colonoscopy, and thus symptoms can be alleviated if there is little risk of perforating the bowel in doing so.
Polyps may protrude from the intestinal lining as a lump; this type of polyp is said to be a sessile polyp. They may also extend from the surface at the end of a thin stalk. A polyp with a thinner stalk is known as a pedunculated polyp.