Bloody or tarry stools

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Lower digestive anatomy

(Page 2)

The lower part of the GI tract will usually cause maroon or bright red, bloody stools due to:

• Anal fissures
• Bowel ischemia (when blood supply is cut off to part of the intestines)
• Colon polyps or colon cancer
• Diverticulosis (abnormal pouches in the colon)
• Hemorrhoids (common cause)
• Inflammatory bowel disease (such as Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis)
• Intestinal infection (such as bacterial enterocolitis)
• Small bowel tumor
• Trauma or foreign body
• Vascular malformation (abnormal collections of blood vessels called arteriovenous malformations or AVMs)

Review Date: 01/07/2011
Reviewed By: Jacob L. Heller, MD, MHA, Emergency Medicine, Virginia Mason Medical Center, Seattle, Washington. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org).

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