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Melena is a form of blood in stool which refers to the dark black, tarry feces that are commonly associated with upper gastrointestinal bleeding. [1] The black color and characteristic strong odor are caused by hemoglobin in the blood being altered by digestive enzymes and intestinal bacteria.
Impaired digestion or absorption can result in fatty stools. Possible causes include exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, with poor digestion from lack of lipases, loss of bile salts, which reduces micelle formation, and small intestinal disease-producing malabsorption. Various other causes include certain medicines that block fat absorption or ...
If pale or clay-colored stool (or acholic stool as your doctor might refer to it) is the result of a serious health issue, there are usually other symptoms. Here are some of the reasons you might ...
Blood may be observed in vomit or in altered form as black stool. Depending on the amount of the blood loss, symptoms may include shock. Upper gastrointestinal bleeding can be caused by peptic ulcers, gastric erosions, esophageal varices, and rarer causes such as gastric cancer.
Blood in stool looks different depending on how early it enters the digestive tract—and thus how much digestive action it has been exposed to—and how much there is. The term can refer either to melena, with a black appearance, typically originating from upper gastrointestinal bleeding; or to hematochezia, with a red color, typically originating from lower gastrointestinal bleeding. [6]
A lower gastrointestinal bleed is defined as bleeding originating distal to the ileocecal valve, which includes the colon, rectum, and anus. [2] LGIB was previously defined as any bleed that occurs distal to the ligament of Treitz, which included the aforementioned parts of the intestine and also included the last 1/4 of the duodenum and the entire area of the jejunum and ileum. [1]
Esophagitis, esophageal varices, gastritis, cirrhosis or gastric ulcers for example, may bleed and produce coffee-ground vomitus. When unaccompanied by melena, hematemesis or a fall in hemoglobin with corresponding urea rises and creates an unstable reaction, and other causes of coffee ground vomitus need to be elucidated; for example, gastric stasis, bowel obstruction or ileus, that can cause ...
[1] [10] Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. [2] [6] [11] Complications may include dehydration. [3] The cause of dysentery is usually the bacteria from genus Shigella, in which case it is known as shigellosis, or the amoeba Entamoeba histolytica; then it is called amoebiasis. [1]