Colitis is a term to describe an inflammation of the large intestine. In a differential diagnosis, it is further broken down into chronic and acute presentations. However, the term is often used to describe both a symptom of an unknown diagnosis, and the nature of a definitive diagnosis with a particular cause. Colitis is a non-specific symptom and can not only point to many diseases, but many groups of conditions such as autoimmune, blood vessels, infection and even ideopathic.