I've been reading some of the posts on here, and I was always under the assumption that during a colonscopy, they only do biopsies on polyps. But I've read some posts here that say aLOT of biopsies were done....one said he had 36 during his colonoscopy. Is this to mean there were 36 polyps?? Or do they simply take samples of the colon as they're going through whether there's polyps or not?

During a sigmoidoscopy the doctor talked about taking a tissue sample to be biopsied. Whether that was actually different from a polyp, I don't know.

I just had a colonoscopy and the Dr took several biopsies thoughout the colon, I had no polyps. Especially if your colon is inflamed, I was being checked for crohns or colitis.

Any colonoscopy will have biopsies taken. If one has UC or CD of the colon, regular checkups will be done to ensure there are no precancerous (dysplasia) cells. For UC or Colon CD patients with active disease over 10 years, there is an increased risk of cancer. If there is any precancerous cells (or cancer) in a colon with UC/CD..no matter where it is, the colon will more than likely be removed.

Biopsies will also be taken to determin whether a person has UC or CD if the diagnosis is questionable...but I don't think it can really be determined if CD of the colon is in the early states since it mimics UC. Biopsies will also determine the extent or the degree of activity of disease. some people with UC/CD can feel "normal" with no flare symptoms, yet biopsies will determine active disease.

Biopsies of polyps are never only just taken, the polyps themselves are always removed. From there, they are sent to pathology for testing to determine if the polyps are benign, precancerous or malignant. Most polyps are a precurser to cancer.

That's how I understand it.

quincy