Ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD) are chronic inflammatory diseases of the bowel and share many demographic, epidemiologic, and clinical features. The early recognition of UC and CD and appropriate management can spare patients hospitalization and surgery, while improving quality of life. Primary care providers are invaluable members of the team caring for patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and can claim a leading role in early disease recognition and diagnosis, coordination of management among multiple specialties, prevention of disease recurrence, and cancer screening. Patients with IBD can present with multiple, often confusing symptoms. Certain patterns in the history of these patients allow the provider to distinguish IBD from other gastrointestinal diseases and between UC and CD. Patients with IBD often suffer debilitating symptoms of diarrhea and cramps. The risk of colorectal cancer in patients with extensive UC and CD is considerably higher than in the general population.