It has long been sought to identify a relationship between form and appearance of stool and possible diseases.
It 's known as the quantity' of faeces emitted daily by a human adult varies between 100 and 250 g in 24 hours with significant variations that depend substantially on the diet.
The tool currently used in medicine to classify stool is called the stool scale and was finally put in place researchers in 1997 with the intent to find a relationship between the type of feces and defecation disorders.
According to their definition have been identified 7 types of feces:
1) goat feces, hard fragments and separated.
2) I made a sausage piece together.
3) I made a salami, single bolus dose with surface cracks.
4) I made sausage, soft.
5) soft stool with sharp edges
6) pasty stools, with irregular margins
7) watery stool's liquid
The constipation is associated commonly with the types 1 and 2, while on 5 and 6 are close to the diarrhea which is defined by the type 7.
The main determinants appear to be the appearance of the faeces the residence time of the same in the colon and therefore, the length of the bowels and the speed of transit.
In this way, feces tendentially of type 1 and 2 are characteristic of slow transit syndromes and pathology's dolicocolon while in transit from accelerated correspond generally feces of type 5 6 and 7.
In subsequent studies, we tried to correlate physiological and pathological events of the type, I and concluded that:
Age, sex, body mass index, cholecystectomy and psychopathological aspects show a correlation as smoking and alcohol consumption seemed irrelevant.
The scale was then validated and is universally used in the medical field for the study of disorders of defecation.
The association between shape and appearance of stools and any organic disease such as polyps, tumors or other proved to be much less significant and should not cause concern in this regard, but what seems important is the any changes to the ordinary habits alvine (appearance constipation or diarrhea) and is a plea for consultation or medical specialist.