Defecation follows digestion, and is a necessary process by which organisms eliminate a solid, semisolid, or liquid waste material known as feces from the digestive tract via the anus. The act has a variety of names ranging from the common, like pooping or crapping, to the technical, e.g. bowel movement, to the obscene (shitting), to the euphemistic, to the juvenile. The topic, usually avoided in polite company, can become the basis for some potty humor.
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a "disorder of gut-brain interaction" characterized by a group of symptoms that commonly include abdominal pain, abdominal bloating and changes in the consistency of bowel movements. These symptoms may occur over a long time, sometimes for years. IBS can negatively affect quality of life and may result in missed school or work or reduced productivity at work. Disorders such as anxiety, major depression, and chronic fatigue syndrome are common among people with IBS.
Chronic functional abdominal pain (CFAP) or functional abdominal pain syndrome (FAPS) is the ongoing presence of abdominal pain for which there is no known medical explanation, and has the potential to interfere with all aspects of daily functioning. It is quite similar to, but less common than, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and many of the same treatments for IBS can also be of benefit to those with CFAP. The fundamental difference between IBS and CFAP is that in CFAP, unlike in IBS, there is no change in bowel habits such as constipation or diarrhea. Bowel dysfunction is a necessary diagnostic criterion of IBS.
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a group of inflammatory conditions of the colon and small intestine, with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis (UC) being the principal types. Crohn's disease affects the small intestine and large intestine, as well as the mouth, esophagus, stomach and the anus, whereas ulcerative colitis primarily affects the colon and the rectum.
Functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGID), also known as disorders of gut–brain interaction, include a number of separate idiopathic disorders which affect different parts of the gastrointestinal tract and involve visceral hypersensitivity and motility disturbances.
Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), also termed bacterial overgrowth, or small bowel bacterial overgrowth syndrome (SBBOS), is a disorder of excessive bacterial growth in the small intestine. Unlike the colon, which is rich with bacteria, the small bowel usually has fewer than 100,000 organisms per millilitre. Patients with bacterial overgrowth typically develop symptoms which may include nausea, bloating, vomiting, diarrhea, malnutrition, weight loss and malabsorption, which is caused by a number of mechanisms.
The Bristol stool scale is a diagnostic medical tool designed to classify the form of human faeces into seven categories. It is used in both clinical and experimental fields.
Abdominal distension occurs when substances, such as air (gas) or fluid, accumulate in the abdomen causing its expansion. It is typically a symptom of an underlying disease or dysfunction in the body, rather than an illness in its own right. People with this condition often describe it as "feeling bloated". Affected people often experience a sensation of fullness, abdominal pressure, and sometimes nausea, pain, or cramping. In the most extreme cases, upward pressure on the diaphragm and lungs can also cause shortness of breath. Through a variety of causes, bloating is most commonly due to buildup of gas in the stomach, small intestine, or colon. The pressure sensation is often relieved, or at least lessened, by belching or flatulence. Medications that settle gas in the stomach and intestines are also commonly used to treat the discomfort and lessen the abdominal distension.
Rifaximin, is a non-absorbable, broad spectrum antibiotic mainly used to treat travelers' diarrhea. It is based on the rifamycin antibiotics family. Since its approval in Italy in 1987, it has been licensed in over more than 30 countries for the treatment of a variety of gastrointestinal diseases like irritable bowel syndrome, and hepatic encephalopathy. It acts by inhibiting RNA synthesis in susceptible bacteria by binding to the RNA polymerase enzyme. This binding blocks translocation, which stops transcription. It is marketed under the brand name Xifaxan by Salix Pharmaceuticals.
Intestinal permeability is a term describing the control of material passing from inside the gastrointestinal tract through the cells lining the gut wall, into the rest of the body. The intestine normally exhibits some permeability, which allows nutrients to pass through the gut, while also maintaining a barrier function to keep potentially harmful substances from leaving the intestine and migrating to the body more widely. In a healthy human intestine, small particles can migrate through tight junction claudin pore pathways, and particles up to 10–15 Å can transit through the paracellular space uptake route. There is some evidence abnormally increased intestinal permeability may play a role in some chronic diseases and inflammatory conditions. The most well understood condition with observed increased intestinal permeability is celiac disease.
The Rome process and Rome criteria are an international effort to create scientific data to help in the diagnosis and treatment of functional gastrointestinal disorders, such as irritable bowel syndrome, functional dyspepsia and rumination syndrome. The Rome diagnostic criteria are set forth by Rome Foundation, a not for profit 501(c)(3) organization based in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States.
Dysbiosis is characterized by a disruption to the microbiome resulting in an imbalance in the microbiota, changes in their functional composition and metabolic activities, or a shift in their local distribution. For example, a part of the human microbiota such as the skin flora, gut flora, or vaginal flora, can become deranged, with normally dominating species underrepresented and normally outcompeted or contained species increasing to fill the void. Dysbiosis is most commonly reported as a condition in the gastrointestinal tract.
Lubiprostone, sold under the brand name Amitiza among others, is a medication used in the management of chronic idiopathic constipation, predominantly irritable bowel syndrome-associated constipation in women and opioid-induced constipation. The drug is owned by Mallinckrodt and is marketed by Takeda Pharmaceutical Company.
Alverine is a drug used for functional gastrointestinal disorders. Alverine is a smooth muscle relaxant. Smooth muscle is a type of muscle that is not under voluntary control; it is the muscle present in places such as the gut and uterus.
Functional disorder is an umbrella term for a group of recognisable medical conditions which are due to changes to the functioning of the systems of the body rather than due to a disease affecting the structure of the body.
Bacteriotherapy is the purposeful use of bacteria or their products in treating an illness. Forms of bacteriotherapy include the use of probiotics, microorganisms that provide health benefits when consumed; fecal matter transplants (FMT) /intestinal microbiota transplant (IMT), the transfer of gut microorganisms from the fecal matter of healthy donors to recipient patients to restore microbiota; or synbiotics which combine prebiotics, indigestible ingredients that promote growth of beneficial microorganisms, and probiotics. Through these methods, the gut microbiota, the community of 300-500 microorganism species that live in the digestive tract of animals aiding in digestion, energy storage, immune function and protection against pathogens, can be recolonized with favorable bacteria, which in turn has therapeutic effects.
Bifidobacterium breve is a bacterial species of the genus Bifidobacterium which has probiotic properties. Bifidobacteria are a type of bacteria that live symbiotically in the intestines of humans. They have been used to treat a number of conditions including constipation, diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome and even the cold and flu. Some of these uses have been backed up by scientific research, but others have not. B. breve is a gram positive, anaerobic, rod shaped organism that is non motile and forms branches with its neighbors.
Serum-derived bovine immunoglobulin/protein isolate (SBI) is a medical food product derived from bovine serum obtained from adult cows in the United States. It is sold under the name EnteraGam.
Jeffrey M. Lackner is an American clinical psychologist, educator, and researcher at the University at Buffalo (UB). He currently serves as a professor in the Department of Medicine at UB's Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. As chief of its Division of Behavioral Medicine, Lackner oversees a division whose clinical, research, and educational activities focus on the interplay of medicine and behavior as they impact chronic disease. He is known for his work on low-intensity behavioral self-management approaches for high-impact pain disorders, and has worked to improve the methodological rigor of behavioral trials and developing clinical innovations that have impacted the lives of many underserved people.
Prof. Richard Pollok is a British gastroenterologist and academic. He is a Professor of Practice in Gastroenterology and Gastrointestinal Infection at St George's, University of London. He also serves as a consultant physician at St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and is a visiting professor at Imperial College London. His research primarily revolves around inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and gastrointestinal infection.
