Protrusions of the walls of individual hollow organs; pathological protrusions of the walls of individual hollow organs;
Definition
A diverticulum is a saccular protrusion of the entire tissue layers or individual layers of the lining of internal cavities (Neumann 2008 / MSD Sharp and Dohme 2007). If numerous but asymptomatic diverticula are found, the condition is referred to as diverticulosis. The size of colonic diverticula, for example, ranges from 3 mm - 3 cm; so-called giant diverticula can grow up to 15 cm in size. If the diverticula cause symptoms, it is referred to as "diverticular disease" (Mader 2018 / MSD Sharp and Dohme 2007).