120-624: Feces ( or faeces ; sg. : faex ) are the solid or semi-solid remains of food that was not digested in the small intestine , and has been broken down by bacteria in the large intestine . Feces contain a relatively small amount of metabolic waste products such as bacterially altered bilirubin , and dead epithelial cells from the lining of the gut. Feces are discharged through the anus or cloaca during defecation . Feces can be used as fertilizer or soil conditioner in agriculture. They can also be burned as fuel or dried and used for construction . Some medicinal uses have been found. In
240-719: A spatula mundani . After the advent of the germ theory of disease then the idea of "auto-intoxication" entered popular Western thought in a fresh way. Enema as a scientific medical treatment and colon cleansing as alternative medical treatment became more common in medical practice. Since the 1700s in the West there has been some popular thought that people with constipation have some moral failing with gluttony or laziness . Approximately 3% of children have constipation, with girls and boys being equally affected. With constipation accounting for approximately 5% of general pediatrician visits and 25% of pediatric gastroenterologist visits,
360-404: A benefit on constipation, while potentially causing cardiac arrhythmias and deaths. Enemas can be used to provide a form of mechanical stimulation. A large volume or high enema can be given to cleanse as much of the colon as possible of feces, and the solution administered commonly contains castile soap which irritates the colon's lining resulting in increased urgency to defecate. However,
480-424: A bowel movement so as to avoid pain. The pelvic floor muscles play an important role in helping pass a bowel movement. Injury to those muscles by some of the above risk factors (examples- delivering a large child, lengthy second stage of labor, forceps delivery) can result in constipation. Enemas may be administered during labor and these can also alter bowel movements in the days after giving birth. However, there
600-410: A build-up of gases inside the gut, prompting the sphincter to relieve the pressure and release the feces. After an animal has digested eaten material, the remains of that material are discharged from its body as waste. Although it is lower in energy than the food from which it is derived, feces may retain a large amount of energy, often 50% of that of the original food. This means that of all food eaten,
720-686: A consonant followed by an unstressed -re (pronounced /ə(r)/ ). In modern American English, most of these words have the ending -er . The difference is most common for words ending in -bre or -tre : British spellings calibre , centre , fibre , goitre , litre , lustre , manoeuvre , meagre , metre (length) , mitre , nitre , ochre , reconnoitre , sabre , saltpetre , sepulchre , sombre , spectre , theatre (see exceptions ) and titre all have -er in American spelling. In Britain, both -re and -er spellings were common before Johnson's 1755 dictionary
840-430: A deterrent for humans, as consuming or touching it may result in sickness or infection. Feces are discharged through the anus or cloaca during defecation . This process requires pressures that may reach 100 millimetres of mercury (3.9 inHg) (13.3 kPa) in humans and 450 millimetres of mercury (18 inHg) (60 kPa) in penguins. The forces required to expel the feces are generated through muscular contractions and
960-468: A distinctive set of Canadian English spellings is viewed by many Canadians as one of the unique aspects of Canadian culture (especially when compared to the United States). In Australia, -or endings enjoyed some use throughout the 19th century and in the early 20th century. Like Canada, though, most major Australian newspapers have switched from " -or " endings to " -our " endings. The " -our " spelling
1080-490: A emium , and a enigma . In others, it is kept in all varieties: for example, phoenix , and usually subpoena , but Phenix in Virginia . This is especially true of names: Aegean (the sea), Caesar , Oedipus , Phoebe , etc., although "caesarean section" may be spelled as "cesarean section". There is no reduction of Latin -ae plurals (e.g., larv ae ); nor where the digraph <ae>/<oe> does not result from
1200-458: A eon , an a emia , an a esthesia , c a ecum , c a esium , c o eliac , diarrh o ea , encyclop a edia , f a eces , f o etal , gyn a ecology , h a emoglobin , h a emophilia , leuk a emia , o esophagus , o estrogen , orthop a edic , pal a eontology , p a ediatric , p a edophile . Oenology is acceptable in American English but is deemed
1320-532: A group uncommon with Hirschsprung's disease (HD) being the most common. There are also congenital structural anomalies that can lead to constipation, including anterior displacement of the anus, imperforate anus , strictures, and small left colon syndrome. The diagnosis is typically made based on a person's description of the symptoms. Bowel movements that are difficult to pass, very firm, or made up of small hard pellets (like those excreted by rabbits) qualify as constipation, even if they occur every day. Constipation
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#17328526890831440-491: A low enema is generally useful only for stool in the rectum, not in the intestinal tract. Constipation that resists the above measures may require physical intervention such as manual disimpaction (the physical removal of impacted stool using the hands; see fecal impaction ). Regular exercise can help improve chronic constipation. In refractory cases, procedures can be performed to help relieve constipation. Sacral nerve stimulation has been demonstrated to be effective in
1560-404: A medical disease, and treatment can be focused on simply relieving the symptoms. The six-week period after pregnancy is called the postpartum stage. During this time, women are at increased risk of being constipated. Multiple studies estimate the prevalence of constipation to be around 25% during the first 3 months. Constipation can cause discomfort for women, as they are still recovering from
1680-527: A minor variant of enology , whereas although archeology and ameba exist in American English, the British versions amoeba and archaeology are more common. The chemical haem (named as a shortening of h a emoglobin ) is spelled heme in American English, to avoid confusion with hem . Canadian English mostly follows American English in this respect, although it is split on gynecology (e.g. Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada vs.
1800-433: A minority of cases. Colectomy with ileorectal anastomosis is another intervention performed only in patients known to have a slow colonic transit time and in whom a defecation disorder has either been treated or is not present. Because this is a major operation, side effects can include considerable abdominal pain, small bowel obstruction, and post-surgical infections. Furthermore, it has a very variable rate of success and
1920-554: A mistaken etymology. The etymologically correct original spelling fetus reflects the Latin original and is the standard spelling in medical journals worldwide; the Oxford English Dictionary notes that "In Latin manuscripts both fētus and foetus are used". The Ancient Greek diphthongs <αι> and <οι> were transliterated into Latin as <ae> and <oe>. The ligatures æ and œ were introduced when
2040-409: A plant in having fruit is that animals will eat the fruit and unknowingly disperse the seed in doing so. This mode of seed dispersal is highly successful, as seeds dispersed around the base of a plant are unlikely to succeed and often are subject to heavy predation . Provided the seed can withstand the pathway through the digestive system, it is not only likely to be far away from the parent plant, but
2160-811: A result of chronic constipation. Constipation can be caused or exacerbated by a low-fiber diet, low liquid intake, or dieting. Dietary fiber helps to decrease colonic transport time, increases stool bulk but simultaneously softens stool. Therefore, diets low in fiber can lead to primary constipation. Many medications have constipation as a side effect. Some include (but are not limited to) opioids , diuretics , antidepressants , antihistamines , antispasmodics , anticonvulsants , tricyclic antidepressants , antiarrythmics , beta-adrenoceptor antagonists , anti-diarrheals , 5-HT3 receptor antagonists such as ondansetron , and aluminum antacids . Certain calcium channel blockers such as nifedipine and verapamil can cause severe constipation due to dysfunction of motility in
2280-442: A set of symptoms that help standardize the diagnosis of constipation in various age groups. These criteria help physicians to better define constipation in a standardized manner. The causes of constipation can be divided into congenital , primary, and secondary. The most common kind is primary and not life-threatening. It can also be divided by the age group affected such as children and adults. Primary or functional constipation
2400-476: A significant amount of energy remains for the decomposers of ecosystems. Many organisms feed on feces, from bacteria to fungi to insects such as dung beetles , who can sense odors from long distances. Some may specialize in feces, while others may eat other foods. Feces serve not only as a basic food, but also as a supplement to the usual diet of some animals. This process is known as coprophagia , and occurs in various animal species such as young elephants eating
2520-660: A suffix for agentive ( reader , user , winner ) and comparative ( louder , nicer ) forms. One outcome is the British distinction of meter for a measuring instrument from metre for the unit of length. However, while " poetic metre " is often spelled as -re , pentameter , hexameter , etc. are always -er . Many other words have -er in British English. These include Germanic words, such as anger , mother , timber and water , and such Romance-derived words as danger , quarter and river . The ending -cre , as in acre , lucre , massacre , and mediocre ,
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#17328526890832640-469: A valuable purpose in paleontology because they provide direct evidence of the predation and diet of extinct organisms. Coprolites may range in size from a few millimetres to more than 60 centimetres. Palaeofeces are ancient feces , often found as part of archaeological excavations or surveys. Intact paleofeces of ancient people may be found in caves in arid climates and in other locations with suitable preservation conditions. These are studied to determine
2760-432: Is - /s/ for the noun and - /z/ for the verb). For licence / license or practice / practise , British English also keeps the noun–verb distinction graphically (although phonetically the two words in each pair are homophones with - /s/ pronunciation). On the other hand, American English uses license and practice for both nouns and verbs (with - /s/ pronunciation in both cases too). American English has kept
2880-774: Is also common in individuals with muscular and myotonic dystrophy. Systemic diseases that may present with constipation include celiac disease and systemic sclerosis . Constipation has a number of structural (mechanical, morphological, anatomical) causes, namely through creating space-occupying lesions within the colon that stop the passage of stool, such as colorectal cancer , strictures , rectocoles , anal sphincter damage or malformation and post-surgical changes. Extra-intestinal masses such as other malignancies can also lead to constipation from external compression. Constipation also has neurological causes, including anismus , descending perineum syndrome , desmosis and Hirschsprung's disease . In infants, Hirschsprung's disease
3000-530: Is among the world's most expensive coffees. Paper is also made from elephant dung in Thailand. Haathi Chaap is a brand of paper made from elephant dung. Dog feces was used in the tanning process of leather during the Victorian era . Collected dog feces, known as "pure", "puer", or "pewer", were mixed with water to form a substance known as "bate", because proteolytic enzymes in the dog feces helped to relax
3120-766: Is between three per day and three per week. Babies often have three to four bowel movements per day while young children typically have two to three per day. Constipation has many causes. Common causes include slow movement of stool within the colon, irritable bowel syndrome , and pelvic floor disorders. Underlying associated diseases include hypothyroidism , diabetes , Parkinson's disease , celiac disease , non-celiac gluten sensitivity , vitamin B 12 deficiency , colon cancer , diverticulitis , and inflammatory bowel disease . Medications associated with constipation include opioids , certain antacids , calcium channel blockers , and anticholinergics . Of those taking opioids about 90% develop constipation. Constipation
3240-531: Is burned as fuel in many countries. Animals such as the giant panda and zebra possess gut bacteria capable of producing biofuel. The bacterium in question, Brocadia anammoxidans , can be used to synthesize the rocket fuel hydrazine . A coprolite is fossilized feces and is classified as a trace fossil . In paleontology they give evidence about the diet of an animal. They were first described by William Buckland in 1829. Prior to this, they were known as "fossil fir cones " and " bezoar stones". They serve
3360-491: Is called constipation . The appearance of human fecal matter varies according to diet and health. Normally it is semisolid, with a mucus coating. A combination of bile and bilirubin , which comes from dead red blood cells , gives feces the typical brown color. After the meconium , the first stool expelled, a newborn's feces contains only bile , which gives it a yellow-green color. Breast feeding babies expel soft, pale yellowish, and not quite malodorous matter; but once
3480-621: Is defined by ongoing symptoms for greater than six months not due to an underlying cause such as medication side effects or an underlying medical condition. It is not associated with abdominal pain, thus distinguishing it from irritable bowel syndrome . It is the most common kind of constipation, and is often multifactorial. In adults, such primary causes include: dietary choices such as insufficient dietary fiber or fluid intake, or behavioral causes such as decreased physical activity . In children, causes can include diets low in fiber and fluids, underlying medical conditions, and reluctance to go to
3600-676: Is discouraged, as having bowel movements may come to be dependent upon their use. Soluble fiber supplements such as psyllium are generally considered first-line treatment for chronic constipation, compared to insoluble fibers such as wheat bran. Side effects of fiber supplements include bloating, flatulence, diarrhea, and possible malabsorption of iron, calcium, and some medications. However, patients with opiate-induced constipation will likely not benefit from fiber supplements. If laxatives are used, milk of magnesia or polyethylene glycol are recommended as first-line agents due to their low cost and safety. Stimulants should only be used if this
3720-536: Is done manually by a physician and is used to guide which diagnostic tests to order. Functional constipation is common and does not warrant diagnostic testing. Imaging and laboratory tests are typically recommended for those with alarm signs or symptoms. The laboratory tests performed depends on the suspected underlying cause of the constipation. Tests may include CBC ( complete blood count ), thyroid function tests, serum calcium, serum potassium, etc. Abdominal X-rays are generally only performed if bowel obstruction
Feces - Misplaced Pages Continue
3840-399: Is dropped for other derivations, for example, central , fibrous , spectral . However, the existence of related words without e before the r is not proof for the existence of an -re British spelling: for example, entry and entrance come from enter , which has not been spelled entre for centuries. The difference relates only to root words; -er rather than -re is universal as
3960-427: Is even provided with its own fertilizer. Organisms that subsist on dead organic matter or detritus are known as detritivores , and play an important role in ecosystems by recycling organic matter back into a simpler form that plants and other autotrophs may absorb once again. This cycling of matter is known as the biogeochemical cycle . To maintain nutrients in soil it is therefore important that feces returns to
4080-614: Is experienced primarily in relation to the sense of taste (either perceived or imagined) and, secondarily to anything that causes a similar feeling by sense of smell, touch, or vision. There is a Pile of Poo emoji represented in Unicode as U+1F4A9 💩 PILE OF POO , called unchi or unchi-kun in Japan. Poop is the center of toilet humor , and is commonly an interest of young children and teenagers. American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe Despite
4200-490: Is generally preferred over oe and often over ae , but oe and ae are sometimes found in academic and scientific writing as well as government publications (for example, the fee schedule of the Ontario Health Insurance Plan ) and some words such as palaeontology or aeon . In Australia, it can go either way, depending on the word: for instance, medieval is spelled with the e rather than ae , following
4320-586: Is known as the Pacific Parlour car, not Pacific Parlor . Proper names such as Pearl Harbor or Sydney Harbour are usually spelled according to their native-variety spelling vocabulary. The name of the herb savory is spelled thus everywhere, although the related adjective savo(u)ry , like savo(u)r , has a u in the UK. Honor (the name) and arbor (the tool) have -or in Britain, as mentioned above, as does
4440-454: Is more concerning when there is weight loss or anemia , blood is present in the stool , there is a history of inflammatory bowel disease or colon cancer in a person's family, or it is of new onset in someone who is older. Treatment of constipation depends on the underlying cause and the duration that it has been present. Measures that may help include drinking enough fluids, eating more fiber , consumption of honey and exercise . If this
4560-533: Is no singular form, making the word a plurale tantum ; out of various major dictionaries, only one enters variation from plural agreement . "Feces" is used more in biology and medicine than in other fields (reflecting science 's tradition of classical Latin and Neo-Latin ) There are many synonyms in informal registers for feces, just like there are for urine . Many are euphemistic , colloquial , or both; some are profane (such as shit ), whereas most belong chiefly to child-directed speech (such as poo or
4680-402: Is not effective, laxatives of the bulk-forming agent , osmotic agent , stool softener , or lubricant type may be recommended. Stimulant laxatives are generally reserved for when other types are not effective. Other treatments may include biofeedback or in rare cases surgery. In the general population rates of constipation are 2–30 percent. Among elderly people living in a care home
4800-430: Is not effective. In cases of chronic constipation, polyethylene glycol appears superior to lactulose . Prokinetics may be used to improve gastrointestinal motility. A number of new agents have shown positive outcomes in chronic constipation; these include prucalopride and lubiprostone . Cisapride is widely available in third world countries, but has been withdrawn in most of the west. It has not been shown to have
4920-457: Is often diagnosed as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) when no obvious cause is found. Poor dietary habits, previous abdominal surgeries, and certain medical conditions can contribute to constipation. Diseases associated with constipation include hypothyroidism , certain types of cancer , and irritable bowel syndrome . Low fiber intake, inadequate amounts of fluids, poor ambulation or immobility, or medications can contribute to constipation. Once
Feces - Misplaced Pages Continue
5040-469: Is relatively high in paleofeces, making it more reliable than skeletal DNA retrieval. The reason this analysis is possible at all is due to the digestive system not being entirely efficient, in the sense that not everything that passes through the digestive system is destroyed. Not all of the surviving material is recognizable, but some of it is. Generally, this material is the best indicator archaeologists can use to determine ancient diets, as no other part of
5160-421: Is significant stool burden and may reveal abdominal discomfort. Rectal examination gives an impression of the anal sphincter tone and whether the lower rectum contains any feces or not. Rectal examination also gives information on the consistency of the stool, the presence of hemorrhoids, blood and whether any perineal irregularities are present including skin tags, fissures, anal warts. Physical examination
5280-593: Is sometimes used. The ratio between -ise and -ize stood at 3:2 in the British National Corpus up to 2002. The spelling -ise is more commonly used in UK mass media and newspapers, including The Times (which switched conventions in 1992), The Daily Telegraph , The Economist and the BBC . The Government of the United Kingdom additionally uses -ise , stating "do not use Americanisms" justifying that
5400-714: Is standard worldwide and complection is rare. However, the adjective complected (as in "dark-complected"), although sometimes proscribed, is on equal ground in the U.S. with complexioned. It is not used in this way in the UK, although there exists a rare alternative meaning of complicated . In some cases, words with "old-fashioned" spellings are retained widely in the U.S. for historical reasons (cf. connexionalism ). Many words, especially medical words, that are written with ae/æ or oe/œ in British English are written with just an e in American English. The sounds in question are /iː/ or /ɛ/ (or, unstressed, /i/ , /ɪ/ or /ə/ ). Examples (with non-American letter in bold ):
5520-430: Is suspected, may reveal extensive impacted fecal matter in the colon, and may confirm or rule out other causes of similar symptoms. Colonoscopy may be performed if an abnormality in the colon like a tumor is suspected. Other tests rarely ordered include anorectal manometry , anal sphincter electromyography, and defecography . Colonic propagating pressure wave sequences (PSs) are responsible for discrete movements of
5640-581: Is taught in schools nationwide as part of the Australian curriculum. The most notable countrywide use of the -or ending is for one of the country's major political parties, the Australian Labor Party , which was originally called "the Australian Labour Party" (name adopted in 1908), but was frequently referred to as both "Labour" and "Labor". The "Labor" was adopted from 1912 onward due to
5760-428: Is the most common medical disorder associated with constipation. Anismus occurs in a small minority of persons with chronic constipation or obstructed defecation. Spinal cord lesions and neurological disorders such as Parkinson's disease and pelvic floor dysfunction can also lead to constipation. Chagas disease may cause constipation through the destruction of the myenteric plexus . Voluntary withholding of
5880-516: Is the scientific terminology, while the term stool is also commonly used in medical contexts. Outside of scientific contexts, these terms are less common, with the most common layman's term being poop or poo . The term shit is also in common use, although it is widely considered vulgar or offensive. There are many other terms, see below. The word faeces is the plural of the Latin word faex meaning "dregs". In most English-language usage , there
6000-530: Is the usual form of the male given name, as a surname both the spellings Peter and Petre (the latter notably borne by a British lord ) are found. For British accoutre , the American practice varies: the Merriam-Webster Dictionary prefers the -re spelling, but The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language prefers the -er spelling. More recent French loanwords keep
6120-503: Is traditionally defined as three or fewer bowel movements per week. Other symptoms related to constipation can include bloating, distension , abdominal pain, headaches, a feeling of fatigue and nervous exhaustion, or a sense of incomplete emptying. Although constipation may be a diagnosis, it is typically viewed as a symptom that requires evaluation to discern a cause. Distinguish between acute (days to weeks) or chronic (months to years) onset of constipation because this information changes
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#17328526890836240-558: Is used as a cement to make adobe ( mudbrick ) huts, or even in throwing sports, especially with cow and camel dung. Kopi luwak , or civet coffee, is coffee made from coffee beans that have been eaten and excreted by Asian palm civets ( Paradoxurus hermaphroditus ). Giant pandas provide fertilizer for the world's most expensive green tea . In Malaysia , tea is made from the droppings of stick insects fed on guava leaves. In northern Thailand , elephants are used to digest coffee beans in order to make Black Ivory coffee , which
6360-481: Is used in both British and American English to show that the c is pronounced /k/ rather than /s/ . The spellings euchre and ogre are also the same in both British and American English. Fire and its associated adjective fiery are the same in both British and American English, although the noun was spelled fier in Old and Middle English. Theater is the prevailing American spelling used to refer to both
6480-480: Is very case dependent. Complications that can arise from constipation include hemorrhoids , anal fissures , rectal prolapse , and fecal impaction. Straining to pass stool may lead to hemorrhoids. In later stages of constipation, the abdomen may become distended, hard and diffusely tender. Severe cases ("fecal impaction" or malignant constipation ) may exhibit symptoms of bowel obstruction (nausea, vomiting , tender abdomen) and encopresis , where soft stool from
6600-578: The -meter suffix (from Ancient Greek - μέτρον métron , via French -mètre ) normally had the -re spelling from earliest use in English but were superseded by -er . Examples include thermometer and barometer . The e preceding the r is kept in American-inflected forms of nouns and verbs, for example, fibers , reconnoitered , centering , which are fibres , reconnoitred , and centring respectively in British English. According to
6720-560: The -ise form as an alternative. Publications by Oxford University Press (OUP)—such as Henry Watson Fowler 's A Dictionary of Modern English Usage , Hart's Rules , and The Oxford Guide to English Usage —also recommend -ize . However, Robert Allan's Pocket Fowler's Modern English Usage considers either spelling to be acceptable anywhere but the U.S. American spelling avoids -ise endings in words like organize , realize and recognize . British spelling mostly uses -ise ( organise , realise , recognise ), though -ize
6840-666: The -ise form is preferred in Australian English at a ratio of about 3:1 according to the Macquarie Dictionary . Constipation Constipation is a bowel dysfunction that makes bowel movements infrequent or hard to pass. The stool is often hard and dry. Other symptoms may include abdominal pain, bloating, and feeling as if one has not completely passed the bowel movement. Complications from constipation may include hemorrhoids , anal fissure or fecal impaction . The normal frequency of bowel movements in adults
6960-450: The -re spelling in American English. These are not exceptions when a French-style pronunciation is used ( /rə/ rather than /ə(r)/ ), as with double entendre , genre and oeuvre . However, the unstressed /ə(r)/ pronunciation of an -er ending is used more (or less) often with some words, including cadre , macabre , maître d' , Notre Dame , piastre , and timbre . The -re endings are mostly standard throughout
7080-483: The Canadian Medical Association 's Canadian specialty profile of Obstetrics/gynecology ). Pediatrician is preferred roughly 10 to 1 over paediatrician , while foetal and oestrogen are similarly uncommon. Words that can be spelled either way in American English include a esthetics and arch a eology (which usually prevail over esthetics and archeology ), as well as pal a estra , for which
7200-534: The OED , centring is a "word ... of 3 syllables (in careful pronunciation)" (i.e., /ˈsɛntərɪŋ/ ), yet there is no vowel in the spelling corresponding to the second syllable ( /ə/ ). The OED third edition (revised entry of June 2016) allows either two or three syllables. On the Oxford Dictionaries Online website, the three-syllable version is listed only as the American pronunciation of centering . The e
7320-542: The Simplified Spelling Board in the early 20th century, but most were not adopted. In Britain, the influence of those who preferred the Norman (or Anglo-French ) spellings of words proved to be decisive. Later spelling adjustments in the United Kingdom had little effect on today's American spellings and vice versa. For the most part, the spelling systems of most Commonwealth countries and Ireland closely resemble
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#17328526890837440-441: The diet and health of the people who produced them through the analysis of seeds, small bones, and parasite eggs found inside. Feces may contain information about the person excreting the material as well as information about the material. They also may be analyzed chemically for more in-depth information on the individual who excreted them, using lipid analysis and ancient DNA analysis. The success rate of usable DNA extraction
7560-523: The differential diagnosis . This in the context of accompanied symptoms helps physicians discover the cause of constipation. People often describe their constipation as bowel movements that are difficult to pass, firm stool with lumpy or hard consistency, and excessive straining during bowel movements. Bloating, abdominal distension , and abdominal pain often accompany constipation. Chronic constipation (symptoms present at least three days per month for more than three months) associated with abdominal discomfort
7680-501: The palindromic word poop ) or to crude humor (such as crap , dump , load and turd .). The feces of animals often have special names (some of them are slang), for example: In all human cultures, feces elicit varying degrees of disgust in adults. Children under two years typically have no disgust response to it, suggesting it is culturally derived. Disgust toward feces appears to be strongest in cultures where flush toilets make olfactory contact with human feces minimal. Disgust
7800-404: The rectosigmoid colon . Supplements such as calcium and iron supplements can also have constipation as a notable side effect. Metabolic and endocrine problems which may lead to constipation include: pheochromocytoma , hypercalcemia , hypothyroidism , hyperparathyroidism , porphyria , chronic kidney disease , pan-hypopituitarism , diabetes mellitus , and cystic fibrosis . Constipation
7920-531: The theatre spelling. (The word "theater" in American English is a place where both stage performances and screenings of films take place, but in British English a "theatre" is where stage performances take place but not film screenings – these take place in a cinema, or "picture theatre" in Australia.) In the United States, the spelling theatre is sometimes used when referring to the art form of theatre, while
8040-515: The u has since been dropped: ambassadour , emperour , errour , governour , horrour , inferiour , mirrour , perturbatour , superiour , tenour , terrour , tremour . Johnson, unlike Webster, was not an advocate of spelling reform, but chose the spelling best derived, as he saw it, from among the variations in his sources. He preferred French over Latin spellings because, as he put it, "the French generally supplied us". English speakers who moved to
8160-435: The u : In American usage, derivatives and inflected forms are built by simply adding the suffix in all cases (for example, favorite , savory etc.) since the u is absent to begin with. American usage, in most cases, keeps the u in the word glamour , which comes from Scots , not Latin or French. Glamor is sometimes used in imitation of the spelling reform of other -our words to -or . Nevertheless,
8280-649: The ‑our/or group do not have a Latin counterpart that ends in ‑or ; for example, armo(u)r , behavio(u)r , harbo(u)r , neighbo(u)r ; also arbo(u)r , meaning "shelter", though senses "tree" and "tool" are always arbor , a false cognate of the other word. The word arbor would be more accurately spelled arber or arbre in the US and the UK, respectively, the latter of which is the French word for "tree". Some 16th- and early 17th-century British scholars indeed insisted that ‑or be used for words from Latin (e.g., color ) and ‑our for French loans; however, in many cases,
8400-441: The 17th and 18th centuries, whereas there are thousands of examples of their -our counterparts. One notable exception is honor . Honor and honour were equally frequent in Britain until the 17th century; honor only exists in the UK now as the spelling of Honor Oak , a district of London, and of the occasional given name Honor . In derivatives and inflected forms of the -our/or words, British usage depends on
8520-593: The 1970s, but had by then been overtaken by connection in regular usage (for example, in more popular newspapers). Connexion (and its derivatives connexional and connexionalism ) is still in use by the Methodist Church of Great Britain to refer to the whole church as opposed to its constituent districts, circuits and local churches, whereas the US-majority United Methodist Church uses Connection . Complexion (which comes from complex )
8640-704: The American National Theatre was referred to by The New York Times as the "American National Theater ", but the organization uses "re" in the spelling of its name. The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. has the more common American spelling theater in its references to the Eisenhower Theater, part of the Kennedy Center. Some cinemas outside New York also use
8760-480: The American and British varieties of English. However, English-language spelling reform has rarely been adopted otherwise. As a result, modern English orthography varies only minimally between countries and is far from phonemic in any country. In the early 18th century, English spelling was inconsistent. These differences became noticeable after the publication of influential dictionaries . Today's British English spellings mostly follow Johnson's A Dictionary of
8880-413: The American usage along with numerous other words such as eon or fetus , while other words such as oestrogen or paediatrician are spelled the British way. The Macquarie Dictionary also notes a growing tendency towards replacing ae and oe with e worldwide and with the exception of manoeuvre, all British or American spellings are acceptable variants. Elsewhere, the British usage prevails, but
9000-581: The Anglo-French spelling for defense and offense , which are defence and offence in British English. Likewise, there are the American pretense and British pretence ; but derivatives such as defensive , offensive , and pretension are always thus spelled in both systems. Australian and Canadian usages generally follow British usage. The spelling connexion is now rare in everyday British usage, its use lessening as knowledge of Latin attenuates, and it has almost never been used in
9120-440: The British system. In Canada, the spelling system can be said to follow both British and American forms, and Canadians are somewhat more tolerant of foreign spellings when compared with other English-speaking nationalities. Australian English mostly follows British spelling norms but has strayed slightly, with some American spellings incorporated as standard. New Zealand English is almost identical to British spelling, except in
9240-637: The British usage of -our . This coincided with a renewed interest in Canadian English, and the release of the updated Gage Canadian Dictionary in 1997 and the first Canadian Oxford Dictionary in 1998. Historically, most libraries and educational institutions in Canada have supported the use of the Oxford English Dictionary rather than the American Webster's Dictionary . Today, the use of
9360-465: The Commonwealth. The -er spellings are recognized as minor variants in Canada, partly due to United States influence. They are sometimes used in proper names (such as Toronto's controversially named Centerpoint Mall ). For advice / advise and device / devise , American English and British English both keep the noun–verb distinction both graphically and phonetically (where the pronunciation
9480-512: The English Language (1755), while many American English spellings follow Webster's An American Dictionary of the English Language ("ADEL", "Webster's Dictionary", 1828). Webster was a proponent of English spelling reform for reasons both philological and nationalistic. In A Companion to the American Revolution (2008), John Algeo notes: "it is often assumed that characteristically American spellings were invented by Noah Webster. He
9600-482: The Greek-style ligature as, for example, in maelstrom or toe ; the same is true for the British form aeroplane (compare other aero- words such as aerosol ) . The now chiefly North American airplane is not a respelling but a recoining, modelled after airship and aircraft . The word airplane dates from 1907, at which time the prefix aero- was trisyllabic, often written aëro- . In Canada, e
9720-515: The US: the more common connection has become the standard worldwide. According to the Oxford English Dictionary , the older spelling is more etymologically conservative, since the original Latin word had -xio- . The American usage comes from Webster , who abandoned -xion and preferred -ction . Connexion was still the house style of The Times of London until the 1980s and was still used by Post Office Telecommunications for its telephone services in
9840-491: The United States took these preferences with them. In the early 20th century, H. L. Mencken notes that " honor appears in the 1776 Declaration of Independence , but it seems to have been put there rather by accident than by design". In Jefferson 's original draft it is spelled "honour". In Britain, examples of behavior , color , flavor , harbor , and neighbor rarely appear in Old Bailey court records from
9960-423: The United States use Centre in their names. Examples include the villages of Newton Centre and Rockville Centre , the city of Centreville , Centre County and Centre College . Sometimes, these places were named before spelling changes but more often the spelling serves as an affectation. Proper names are usually spelled according to their native-variety spelling vocabulary; so, for instance, although Peter
10080-476: The United States. A "British standard" began to emerge following the 1755 publication of Samuel Johnson 's A Dictionary of the English Language , and an "American standard" started following the work of Noah Webster and, in particular, his An American Dictionary of the English Language , first published in 1828. Webster's efforts at spelling reform were effective in his native country, resulting in certain well-known patterns of spelling differences between
10200-601: The adjective glamorous often drops the first "u". Saviour is a somewhat common variant of savior in the US. The British spelling is very common for honour (and favour ) in the formal language of wedding invitations in the US. The name of the Space Shuttle Endeavour has a u in it because the spacecraft was named after British Captain James Cook 's ship, HMS Endeavour . The (former) special car on Amtrak 's Coast Starlight train
10320-461: The archaeological record is so direct an indicator. A process that preserves feces in a way that they may be analyzed later is the Maillard reaction . This reaction creates a casing of sugar that preserves the feces from the elements. To extract and analyze the information contained within, researchers generally have to freeze the feces and grind it up into powder for analysis. Animal dung occasionally
10440-423: The area from which they came, which is not always the case in human society where food may be transported from rural areas to urban populations and then feces disposed of into a river or sea. Depending on the individual and the circumstances, human beings may defecate several times a day, every day, or once every two or three days. Extensive hardening of the feces that interrupts this routine for several days or more
10560-512: The baby begins to eat, and the body starts expelling bilirubin from dead red blood cells, its matter acquires the familiar brown color. At different times in their life, human beings will expel feces of different colors and textures. A stool that passes rapidly through the intestines will look greenish; lack of bilirubin will make the stool look like clay. The feces of animals, e.g. guano and manure , often are used as fertilizer . Dry animal dung , such as that of camel , bison and cattle ,
10680-620: The bathroom. In the elderly, common causes have been attributed to insufficient dietary fiber intake, inadequate fluid intake, decreased physical activity , side effects of medications, hypothyroidism , and obstruction by colorectal cancer . Evidence to support these factors however is poor. Secondary causes include side effects of medications such as opiates, endocrine and metabolic disorders such as hypothyroidism , and obstruction such as from colorectal cancer or ovarian cancer . Celiac disease and non-celiac gluten sensitivity may also present with constipation. Cystocele can develop as
10800-520: The bowel contents and are vital for normal defecation. Deficiencies in PS frequency, amplitude, and extent of propagation are all implicated in severe defecatory dysfunction (SDD). Mechanisms that can normalize these aberrant motor patterns may help rectify the problem. Recently the novel therapy of sacral nerve stimulation (SNS) has been utilized for the treatment of severe constipation. The Rome III Criteria for functional constipation must include two or more of
10920-507: The building itself, as noted above, generally is spelled theater . For example, the University of Wisconsin–Madison has a "Department of Theatre and Drama", which offers courses that lead to the "Bachelor of Arts in Theatre ", and whose professed aim is "to prepare our graduate students for successful 21st Century careers in the theatre both as practitioners and scholars". Some placenames in
11040-429: The case of human feces , fecal transplants or fecal bacteriotherapy are in use. Urine and feces together are called excreta . The distinctive odor of feces is due to skatole , and thiols ( sulfur -containing compounds), as well as amines and carboxylic acids. Skatole is produced from tryptophan via indoleacetic acid. Decarboxylation gives skatole. The perceived bad odor of feces has been hypothesized to be
11160-426: The close historic, economic, and cultural relationship with the United States, -or endings are also sometimes used. Throughout the late 19th and early to mid-20th century, most Canadian newspapers chose to use the American usage of -or endings, originally to save time and money in the era of manual movable type . However, in the 1990s, the majority of Canadian newspapers officially updated their spelling policies to
11280-416: The delivery process especially if they have had a perineal tear or underwent an episiotomy . Risk factors that increase the risk of constipation in this population include: Hemorrhoids are common in pregnancy and also may get exacerbated when constipated. Anything that can cause pain with stooling (hemorrhoids, perineal tear, episiotomy) can lead to constipation because patients may withhold from having
11400-403: The dramatic arts and buildings where stage performances and screenings of films take place (i.e., " movie theaters "); for example, a national newspaper such as The New York Times would use theater in its entertainment section. However, the spelling theatre appears in the names of many New York City theatres on Broadway (cf. Broadway theatre) and elsewhere in the United States. In 2003,
11520-486: The elderly is felt to be due to an increasing number of health problems as humans age and decreased physical activity. Since ancient times different societies have published medical opinions about how health care providers should respond to constipation in patients. In various times and places, doctors have made claims that constipation has all sorts of medical or social causes. Doctors in history have treated constipation in reasonable and unreasonable ways, including use of
11640-703: The ending became ‑our to match the later Old French spelling. The ‑our ending was used not only in new English borrowings, but was also applied to the earlier borrowings that had used ‑or . However, ‑or was still sometimes found. The first three folios of Shakespeare 's plays used both spellings before they were standardised to ‑our in the Fourth Folio of 1685. After the Renaissance , new borrowings from Latin were taken up with their original ‑or ending, and many words once ending in ‑our (for example, chancellour and governour ) reverted to ‑or . A few words of
11760-406: The etymology was not clear, and therefore some scholars advocated ‑or only and others ‑our only. Webster's 1828 dictionary had only -or and is given much of the credit for the adoption of this form in the United States. By contrast, Johnson's 1755 (pre-U.S. independence and establishment) dictionary used -our for all words still so spelled in Britain (like colour ), but also for words where
11880-424: The feces of their mothers to gain essential gut flora , or by other animals such as dogs, rabbits, and monkeys. Feces and urine, which reflect ultraviolet light, are important to raptors such as kestrels , who can see the near ultraviolet and thus find their prey by their middens and territorial markers. Seeds also may be found in feces. Animals who eat fruit are known as frugivores . An advantage for
12000-475: The fibrous structure of the hide before the final stages of tanning. Dog feces collectors were known as pure finders . Elephants, hippos , koalas and pandas are born with sterile intestines, and require bacteria obtained from eating the feces of their mothers to digest vegetation. In India, cow dung and cow urine are major ingredients of the traditional Hindu drink Panchagavya . Politician Shankarbhai Vegad stated that they can cure cancer . Feces
12120-454: The following and present for the past three months, with symptoms starting for at least 6 months prior to diagnosis. Constipation is usually easier to prevent than to treat. Following the relief of constipation, maintenance with adequate exercise, fluid intake, and high-fiber diet is recommended. A limited number of cases require urgent medical intervention or will result in severe consequences. The treatment of constipation should focus on
12240-669: The influence of the American labor movement and King O'Malley . On top of that, some place names in South Australia such as Victor Harbor , Franklin Harbor or Outer Harbor are usually spelled with the -or spellings. Aside from that, -our is now almost universal in Australia but the -or endings remain a minority variant. New Zealand English , while sharing some words and syntax with Australian English , follows British usage. In British English, some words from French, Latin or Greek end with
12360-414: The nature of the suffix used. The u is kept before English suffixes that are freely attachable to English words (for example in humourless , neighbourhood , and savoury ) and suffixes of Greek or Latin origin that have been adopted into English (for example in behaviourism , favourite , and honourable ). However, before Latin suffixes that are not freely attachable to English words,
12480-753: The presence of constipation is identified based on a culmination of the symptoms described above, then the cause of constipation should be figured out. Separating non-life-threatening from serious causes may be partly based on symptoms. For example, colon cancer may be suspected if a person has a family history of colon cancer, fever, weight loss, and rectal bleeding. Other alarming signs and symptoms include family or personal history of inflammatory bowel disease, age of onset over 50, change in stool caliber, nausea, vomiting, and neurological symptoms like weakness, numbness and difficulty urinating. A physical examination should involve at least an abdominal exam and rectal exam. Abdominal exam may reveal an abdominal mass if there
12600-404: The rate of constipation is 50–75 percent. People in the United States spend more than US$ 250 million on medications for constipation a year. Constipation is a symptom, not a disease. Most commonly, constipation is thought of as infrequent bowel movements, usually fewer than 3 stools per week. However, people may have other complaints as well including: The Rome III Criteria are
12720-475: The simplified form palestra is described by Merriam-Webster as "chiefly Brit[ish]." This is a reverse of the typical rule, where British spelling uses the ae / oe and American spelling simply uses e . Words that can be spelled either way in British English include cham a eleon , encyclop a edia , hom o eopathy , medi a eval (a minor variant in both AmE and BrE ), f o etid and f o etus . The spellings f o etus and f o etal are Britishisms based on
12840-430: The small intestine bypasses the mass of impacted fecal matter in the colon . Constipation is the most common chronic gastrointestinal disorder in adults. Depending on the definition employed, it occurs in 2% to 20% of the population. It is more common in women, the elderly and children. Specifically constipation with no known cause affects females more often affected than males. The reasons it occurs more frequently in
12960-410: The sounds became monophthongs , and later applied to words not of Greek origin, in both Latin (for example, cœli ) and French (for example, œuvre ). In English, which has adopted words from all three languages, it is now usual to replace Æ/æ with Ae/ae and Œ/œ with Oe/oe . In many words, the digraph has been reduced to a lone e in all varieties of English: for example, o economics , pr
13080-672: The spelling "is often seen as such". The -ize form is known as Oxford spelling and is used in publications of the Oxford University Press, most notably the Oxford English Dictionary , and of other academic publishers such as Nature , the Biochemical Journal and The Times Literary Supplement . It can be identified using the IETF language tag en-GB-oxendict (or, historically, by en-GB-oed ). In Ireland, India, Australia, and New Zealand -ise spellings strongly prevail:
13200-608: The spellings with just e are increasingly used. Manoeuvre is the only spelling in Australia, and the most common one in Canada, where maneuver and manoeuver are also sometimes found. The -ize spelling is often incorrectly seen in Britain as an Americanism. It has been in use since the 15th century, predating the -ise spelling by over a century. The verb-forming suffix -ize comes directly from Ancient Greek -ίζειν ( -ízein ) or Late Latin -izāre , while -ise comes via French -iser . The Oxford English Dictionary ( OED ) recommends -ize and lists
13320-474: The stool is a common cause of constipation. The choice to withhold can be due to factors such as fear of pain, fear of public restrooms, or laziness. When a child holds in the stool a combination of encouragement, fluids , fiber , and laxatives may be useful to overcome the problem. Early intervention with withholding is important as this can lead to anal fissures . A number of diseases present at birth can result in constipation in children . They are as
13440-507: The symptom carries a significant financial impact upon the healthcare system. While it is difficult to assess an exact age at which constipation most commonly arises, children frequently experience constipation in conjunction with life-changes. Examples include: toilet training, starting or transferring to a new school, and changes in diet. Especially in infants, changes in formula or transitioning from breast milk to formula can cause constipation. The majority of constipation cases are not tied to
13560-401: The underlying cause if known. The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) break constipation in adults into two categories: chronic constipation of unknown cause, and constipation due to opiates. In chronic constipation of unknown cause, the main treatment involves the increased intake of water and fiber (either dietary or as supplements). The routine use of laxatives or enemas
13680-600: The various English dialects spoken from country to country and within different regions of the same country, there are only slight regional variations in English orthography , the two most notable variations being British and American spelling. Many of the differences between American and British or Commonwealth English date back to a time before spelling standards were developed. For instance, some spellings seen as "American" today were once commonly used in Britain, and some spellings seen as "British" were once commonly used in
13800-412: The vowel is unreduced in pronunciation (e.g., devour , contour , flour , hour , paramour , tour , troubadour , and velour ), the spelling is uniform everywhere. Most words of this kind came from Latin, where the ending was spelled ‑or . They were first adopted into English from early Old French , and the ending was spelled ‑our , ‑or or ‑ur . After the Norman conquest of England ,
13920-624: The word fiord (instead of fjord ) . There is an increasing use of macrons in words that originated in Māori and an unambiguous preference for -ise endings (see below). Most words ending in an unstressed ‑our in British English (e.g., behaviour , colour , favour , flavour , harbour , honour , humour , labour , neighbour , rumour , splendour ) end in ‑or in American English ( behavior , color , favor , flavor , harbor , honor , humor , labor , neighbor , rumor , splendor ). Wherever
14040-428: The word pallor . As a general noun, rigour / ˈ r ɪ ɡ ər / has a u in the UK; the medical term rigor (sometimes / ˈ r aɪ ɡ ər / ) does not, such as in rigor mortis , which is Latin. Derivations of rigour / rigor such as rigorous , however, are typically spelled without a u , even in the UK. Words with the ending -irior , -erior or similar are spelled thus everywhere. The word armour
14160-428: Was once somewhat common in American usage but has disappeared except in some brand names such as Under Armour . The agent suffix -or ( separator , elevator , translator , animator , etc.) is spelled thus both in American and British English. Commonwealth countries normally follow British usage. Canadian English most commonly uses the -our ending and -our- in derivatives and inflected forms. However, owing to
14280-929: Was published. Following this, -re became the most common usage in Britain. In the United States, following the publication of Webster's Dictionary in the early 19th century, American English became more standardized, exclusively using the -er spelling. In addition, spelling of some words have been changed from -re to -er in both varieties. These include September , October , November , December , amber, blister , cadaver , chamber , chapter , charter , cider , coffer , coriander , cover , cucumber , cylinder , diaper , disaster , enter , fever , filter , gender , leper , letter , lobster , master , member , meter (measuring instrument) , minister , monster , murder , number , offer , order , oyster , powder , proper , render , semester , sequester , sinister , sober , surrender , tender , and tiger . Words using
14400-437: Was very influential in popularizing certain spellings in the United States, but he did not originate them. Rather [...] he chose already existing options such as center, color and check for the simplicity, analogy or etymology". William Shakespeare 's first folios , for example, used spellings such as center and color as much as centre and colour . Webster did attempt to introduce some reformed spellings, as did
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