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Basics

• Summary
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• Diagnosis and Tests
• Treatments and Therapies

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• Specifics

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Research

• Statistics and Research
• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

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For You

• Children
• Patient Handouts

Summary

A bowel movement is the last stop in the movement of food through your digestive tract. Your stool passes out of your body through the rectum and anus. Another name for stool is feces. It is made of what is left after your digestive system (stomach, small intestine, and colon) absorbs nutrients and fluids from what you eat and drink.

Sometimes a bowel movement isn't normal. Diarrhea happens when stool passes through the large intestine too quickly. Constipation occurs when stool passes through the large intestine too slowly. Bowel incontinence is a problem controlling your bowel movements. Other abnormalities with bowel movements may be a sign of a digestive problem.

NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

Start Here

• Bowel Retraining: Strategies for Establishing Bowel Control (International Foundation for Gastrointestinal Disorders)
• Elimination Problems or Constipation (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
• Normal Function of the Colon (International Foundation for Gastrointestinal Disorders)

Diagnosis and Tests

• Bacteria Culture Test (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Magnetic Resonance (MR) Defecography (American College of Radiology; Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
• Stool Color: When to Worry (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Treatments and Therapies

• Biofeedback and Bowel Disorders: Teaching Yourself to Live without the Problem (International Foundation for Gastrointestinal Disorders)

Specifics

• Bowel Control Problems (Fecal Incontinence) (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) Also in Spanish
• Frequent Bowel Movements (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Statistics and Research

• Prevalence of Bowel Incontinence (International Foundation for Gastrointestinal Disorders)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Defecation (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Feces (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Daily intake of a dairy-based nutritional supplement improved self-reported gastrointestinal symptoms...
• Article: Stool and blood biomarkers for colorectal cancer management: an update on...
• Article: Brain injury in premature infants may be related to abnormal colonization...
• Bowel Movement -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• American College of Gastroenterology
• National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

Children

• Constipation and Fecal Soiling (North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition) - PDF
• Elimination Problems or Constipation in Infants and Children (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish

Patient Handouts

• Black or tarry stools (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Daily bowel care program (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• External incontinence devices (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Fecal culture (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Fecal smear (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Stool guaiac test (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Stools - floating (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Stools - foul smelling (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Stools - pale or clay-colored (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Tenesmus (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish