stool

(noun)

Feces; excrement.

Related Terms

Examples of stool in the following topics:

  • Occult Blood

    • Dark stools may not be a cause for concern.
    • A fecal occult blood test (FOBT) checks for hidden (occult) blood in the stool (feces).
    • Newer tests look for globin, DNA, or other blood factors including transferrin, while conventional stool tests look for heme.
    • In healthy people, about 0.5 to 1.5 ml of blood escapes blood vessels into the stool each day.
    • The stool guaiac test for hidden (occult) blood in the stool can be done at home or in the doctor's office, or can be performed on samples submitted to a clinical laboratory .

  • Amoebic Dysentery (Amoebiasis)

    • The infective cysts are passed via infected stool.
    • Interestingly, individuals can be asymptomatic if infected with trophozoites and can function as carriers by passing cysts in their stool.
    • Symptoms of individuals infected with Entamoeba histolytica include ulcers, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, bloody stools, liquid stools, fever and vomiting.

  • Cyclospora Diarrheal Infection

    • The symptoms range from watery, loose stool, weight loss, cramping, fatigue, vomiting, fever and nausea.
    • Cyclosporiasis (Cyclospora cayetanesis) When freshly passed in stools, the oocyst is not infective (1) (thus, direct fecal-oral transmission cannot occur; this differentiates Cyclospora from another important coccidian parasite, Cryptosporidium).
    • Inside the cells they undergo asexual multiplication and sexual development to mature into oocysts, which will be shed in stools (7).
    • A photomicrograph of oocysts from Cyclospora cayetanensis derived from a fresh stool sample.

  • Dogon Sculpture

    • Themes found throughout Dogon sculpture consist of figures with raised arms, superimposed bearded figures, horsemen, stools with caryatids, women with children, figures covering their faces, women grinding pearl millet, women bearing vessels on their heads, donkeys bearing cups, musicians, dogs, quadruped-shaped troughs or benches, figures bending from the waist, mirror-images, apron-wearing figures, and standing figures.
    • Carved animal figures, such as dogs and ostriches, are placed on village foundation altars to commemorate sacrificed animals, while granary doors, stools, and house posts are also adorned with figures and symbols.

  • Giardiasis

    • Once the parasites move towards the colon, the encystation phase occurs and the cysts are infectious when passed in the stool .
    • The symptoms include from fever, diarrhea, hematuria, stomach cramping, vomiting, flatulence, and loose stool.

  • Bacterial Gastroenteritis

    • However, stool cultures should be performed in those with blood in the stool, those who might have been exposed to food poisoning, and those who have recently traveled to the developing world.

  • Malabsorption of Nutrients

    • Diarrhea (watery, diurnal and nocturnal, bulky, frequent stools) is the clinical hallmark of overt malabsorption.
    • Microscopic analysis of stool samples, particularly useful with diarrhea, may show protozoa like Giardia, ova of hookworm, cysts, and other infective agents.

  • Typhoid Fever

    • Diagnosis is made by any blood, bone marrow or stool cultures and with the Widal test (demonstration of salmonella antibodies against antigens O-somatic and H-flagellar).
    • In epidemics and less wealthy countries, after excluding malaria, dysentery or pneumonia, a therapeutic trial time with chloramphenicol is generally undertaken while awaiting the results of the Widal test, and cultures of the blood and stool.

  • Jaundice

    • In this case, presence of bilirubin (conjugated) in the urine without urine-urobilinogen suggests obstructive jaundice, either intra-hepatic or post-hepatic.The presence of pale stools and dark urine suggests an obstructive or post-hepatic cause—normal feces get their color from bile pigments.
    • Although pale stools and dark urine are a feature of biliary obstruction, they can occur in many intra-hepatic illnesses, so they are not a reliable clinical feature to distinguish obstruction from hepatic causes of jaundice.

  • Colorectal Cancer

    • The classic warning signs include worsening constipation, blood in the stool, weight loss, fever, loss of appetite, and nausea or vomiting in someone over 50 years old.
    • Fecal occult blood testing of the stool is typically recommended every two years.