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(dÄ«'vÃ»r-tÄ­k'yÉ-lÉm) Plural diverticula. A pouch or sac branching out from a portion of the gastrointestinal tract, especially the large intestine. A diverticulum can occur as a normal structure, or it can be caused by a hernia.
A diverticulum is a saclike protrusion in the colonic wall that develops as a result of herniation of the mucosa and submucosa through points of weakness in the muscular wall of the colon. The colonic diverticulum is a false or pulsion diverticulum-that is, it does not contain all layers of the colonic wall.