Rationale: The dysentery syndrome can be caused by multiple pathogens, and stool studies are required to definitively diagnose them. However, epidemiology (history of exposure) can be helpful. E. histolytica (amebic dysentery) and S. dysenteriae (bacillary dysentery), two of the most common colonic ulcerative diseases, are much more common in developing countries than in the Western hemisphere, and recent travel history should be obtained to rule out these diseases. IBD should always be considered, although after infectious etiologies have been ruled out.