Musculoskeletal disease occurs in association with inflammatory bowel disorders including Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, as well as with Whipple's disease; with enteritis caused by Salmonella, Shigella, and Yersinia; and also following intestinal bypass surgery. Extraintestinal causes of musculoskeletal alterations include Laennec's and biliary cirrhosis and pancreatitis. Three types of musculoskeletal abnormalities are recognized in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases: peripheral joint arthritis, sacroiliitis and spondylitis identical to ankylosing spondylitis, and rarely, miscellaneous changes such as digital clubbing and hypertrophic osteoarthropathy.