[Differential diagnosis of ulcerative colitis]

The confusion arising from the misnomer "ulcerative colitis" when used to characterize idiopathic hemorrhagic proctocolitis is emphasized, and an attempt is made in this postgraduate lecture to classify inflammatory bowel disease by subdivision into hemorrhagic and non-hemorrhagic forms. The limits of such didactic simplifications are stressed and special attention is focused on little-known conditions such as " diversion colitis" and Campylobacter colitis.