Final answer:
Substances that indicate an abnormality in fecal characteristics include blood, steatorrhea, and chronic, watery diarrhea.
Step-by-step explanation:
When analyzing the fecal characteristics of a patient, several substances can indicate an abnormality. Some of these substances include:
- Blood: The presence of blood in the stool may indicate certain types of infectious agents or colorectal cancer.
- Steatorrhea: This condition is characterized by the excretion of large amounts of lipids in the feces, which can be caused by obstruction to bile flow or defects in lipid absorption.
- Chronic, watery diarrhea: This symptom can be associated with various conditions and might require a blood test to determine the cause.
Abnormal substances in fecal matter that may indicate a pathology include the presence of blood, which often signals infections by agents such as C. jejuni, Salmonella, and E. histolytica. These infections can produce bloody stools, which can be detected by stool samples. Another indication of abnormalities includes steatorrhea, where a patient excretes large amounts of lipids in feces due to bile flow obstruction or malabsorption issues. Colorectal cancer symptoms like constipation, diarrhea, cramping, abdominal pain, and rectal bleeding can also reveal fecal irregularities, with occult blood present in the feces being particularly significant. Regular screenings, such as fecal occult blood tests and colonoscopies, are recommended after 50 years of age to identify and prevent colon cancer from developing polyps.