Pitfalls and progress in the diagnosis and management of canine inflammatory bowel disease.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is the collective term for a group of chronic enteropathies characterized by persistent or recurrent gastrointestinal (GI) signs and inflammation of the GI tract. The specific steps that lead to IBD and the basis for phenotypic variation and unpredictable responses to treatment are not known. This article examines IBD in dogs, focusing on the interaction between genetic susceptibility and the enteric microenvironment (bacteria, diet), the utility of recently developed histologic criteria, the prognostic indicators, and the standardized approaches to treatment.