Defecation
Elimination of feces from the digestive tract via the anus.
Defecation is the biological process by which organisms eliminate solid, semisolid, or liquid waste material known as feces from the digestive tract via the anus or cloaca. The act has a variety of names, ranging from technical terms like bowel movement to common and euphemistic expressions. It is a topic often avoided in polite company but forms the basis of scatological humor.
Quick Facts
- Frequency range
- from a few times daily to a few times weekly
- Primary waste expelled
- feces
- Associated medical conditions
- diarrhea and constipation
- Common pathogen concern
- E. coli
- Infant first stool
- meconium
- Toilet types
- Western-style flush toilet and squat toilet
Facts from the source article.
Description
Before waste leaves the body, it is held in the rectum ampulla. As this material fills the rectum and stretches its walls, special stretch receptors trigger the sensation that it is time to go. This feeling comes from a reflex that contracts the rectal muscles, relaxes the internal anal sphincter, and briefly tightens the external anal sphincter. If a person ignores this urge, reverse peristalsis can send the stool back into the colon, where more water is removed and it waits for the next mass movement. When the rectum is truly full, rising pressure opens the anal canal, letting feces enter. The rectum shortens, and peristaltic waves push the waste out. The internal and external sphincters, along with the puborectalis muscle, work together as muscles pull the anus up over the exiting stool. The external sphincter is under conscious control, while the internal one is not. Babies pass stool by reflex alone, but adults do so voluntarily. Toilet training teaches young children this control. Losing that control, known as fecal incontinence, can result from injury, nerve damage, surgeries like episiotomy, constipation, diarrhea, reduced rectal storage, extreme fear, inflammatory bowel disease, psychological or neurological issues, childbirth, or even death. Involuntary defecation, often with urination, can soil clothing and cause embarrassment, especially in public. Toilet styles vary by culture: squat toilets are common across most of Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, while sit-down toilets became widespread in the West only with indoor plumbing in the 1800s.
Disease
How well your digestive system works can be judged by how regularly you go to the bathroom. The act of pooping, called defecation, is the body’s main way of getting rid of waste. How often someone poops ranges from once a day to once a week, and this depends on their personal habits, surroundings, and genes. If you hold it in too long, the poop can get hard and cause constipation. If it comes out too quickly, before enough water is absorbed, you get diarrhea. Other problems can include a swollen belly, pain, or bloating. Bowel issues can really mess up your daily life and well-being. The reasons for these problems are many, but what you eat—like not enough fiber or foods that don’t agree with you—is usually the main cause. Constipation, also called defecatory dysfunction, means it’s hard to pass stool and it affects people of all ages. It often comes with belly pain, bloating, or swelling. Long-term constipation has been linked to a higher risk of heart attacks, strokes, and even death. Besides diet, past emotional trauma and problems with the pelvic floor can also lead to chronic constipation. Treatments include exercise, eating more fiber, taking probiotics, and using medicine. Inflammatory bowel disease involves long-term swelling in the gut. The two main types are Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. They are tied to things like environment, family history, and smoking. Crohn’s is especially linked to immune system problems. These diseases can cause fistulas, damage to bowel function, symptoms that keep coming back, and disability. In young people, weak immune systems and certain genetic disorders are often the cause.
Society and culture
Open defecation is the practice of defecating outside rather than into a toilet, in fields, bushes, forests, ditches, streets, canals, or other open space. People may do so because they lack a toilet or due to traditional cultural practices. It is common where sanitation infrastructure is unavailable. Even if toilets are available, behavior change efforts may be needed to promote use. Open defecation can pollute the environment and cause health problems, and is linked to high child mortality, poor nutrition, poverty, and large disparities between rich and poor. Ending open defecation is an indicator used to measure progress towards Sustainable Development Goal Number 6. Extreme poverty and lack of sanitation are statistically linked, so eliminating open defecation is considered important for poverty elimination. The anus and buttocks may be cleansed after defecation with toilet paper, similar paper products, or other absorbent material. In many cultures, such as Hindu and Muslim, water is used for anal cleansing, either in addition to toilet paper or exclusively. Some doctors and hygiene professionals state that using a bidet is both more hygienic and environmentally friendly. Some peoples have culturally significant stories involving defecation, such as the Alune and Wemale legend of Hainuwele defecating valuable objects, and the Catalan tradition of the caganer figurine in nativity scenes. Freud stipulated an Anal Stage of development, categorizing anal retentive and anal expulsive types.
More in Symptoms and Signs: Digestive System and Abdomen
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