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Mucus in stool can sometimes be a symptom of colon cancer, says Dr. Shanker-Patel. However, mucus in stool is just one of a number of symptoms that might be observed in cases of colon cancer.
An example of this could be the so-called "red currant jelly" stools in intussusception. This appearance refers to the mixture of sloughed mucosa, mucus, and blood. [12] Note: "mucus" is a noun, used to name the substance itself, and "mucous" is an adjective, used to describe a discharge. "Mucoid" is also an adjective and means mucus-like.
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 indigestible or excess oil/fat in diet.
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]
The trapped section of bowel may have its blood supply cut off, which causes ischemia (lack of oxygen in the tissues). The mucosa (gut lining) is very sensitive to ischemia, and responds by sloughing off into the gut. This creates the classically described "red currant jelly" stool, which is a mixture of sloughed mucosa, blood, and mucus. [7]
Yellowish mucus typically means that your white blood cells are "fighting off an illness or infection," says Nasseri. "Most commonly this is linked to the common cold and will likely clear on its own.
A complete blood count as well as an hemoglobin test should be performed when a patient presents symptoms of hematochezia. A colonoscopy may be necessary if there is suspicion of bleed from colon particularly in the elderly to look for the site and many causes of bleed like carcinoma, ulcerative colitis, rectal varices or other lesions and in certain instances upper gastrointestinal endoscopy ...
Entamoeba histolytica ingests the destroyed cells by phagocytosis and is often seen with red blood cells (a process known as erythrophagocytosis) inside when viewed in stool samples. Especially in Latin America , [ citation needed ] a granulomatous mass (known as an amoeboma ) may form in the wall of the ascending colon or rectum due to long ...