Just another day in Physiology...

Stools have been classified into seven types, on what is called the Bristol Stool Form Scale (see chart), according to their appearance as seen in the toilet water. Type 1 has spent the longest in the colon and type 7 the least time.

Stools at the lumpy end of the scale are hard to pass and often require a lot of straining. Stools at the loose or liquid end of the spectrum can be too easy to pass – the need to pass them is urgent and accidents can happen. The ideal stools are types 3 and 4, especially type 4, as they are most likely to glide out without any fuss what-soever. Also, they are least likely to leave you with an annoying feeling that something is left behind.The average passage time of undigested food residues through the human gut is about 50 hours in men and 57 hours in women, but ranges from well under 20 to over 100 hours. It also changes from one day to the next. Most of this time (80 to 90 per cent) is spent in the colon.

I posted this because I know you have always wondered about your poo, and I couldn't resist the urge to tell you about it. In class today, there was even a quiz question about what type of poo you have after exam. It was embarassing to say the least. I almost didn't want to answer it, but alas, I wanted (needed) the point.