A colostomy, where part of the colon is brought through the abdomen so that stool can be eliminated into a bag worn on the abdomen, is often not needed. A partial colectomy is almost never done for people with ulcerative colitis, because the disease will often recur in the healthy section of the colon that is left. In Crohn's disease, there is also a risk of the disease recurring in the colon, and more surgery is needed in some cases.
The term alcoholism is commonly used amongst laypeople, but the word is poorly defined. The WHO calls alcoholism a term of long-standing use and variable meaning, and use of the term was disfavored by a 1979 WHO expert committee.
An alcoholic is a person who suffers from alcohol dependency. Alcohol dependency can be defined as a physical and/or mental dependency on alcohol that has specified symptoms including a high level of tolerance to the effects of alcohol and the potential for withdrawal symptoms.