OB

stool for occult blood test

stool for occult blood test (stool for OB)

a stool test performed as part of every routine physical examination to detect the presence of occult blood in the GI tract.Presence of OB in the stool may indicate benign and malignant GI tumors, ulcers, inflammatory bowel disease,arteriovenous malformation, diverticulosis, and hematobilia.

A test for fecal occult blood looks for blood in your poop, or feces. It can be a sign of a problem in your digestive system, such as a growth, or polyp, or cancer in the colon or rectum.

If the results show that there is blood (whether you can see it or not), it’s important for your doctor to find the source of bleeding to diagnose and treat the problem.

What Causes Blood to Appear in Poop?

Blood may show up in your poop because of one or more of the following conditions:

Growths or polyps of the colon

Hemorrhoids (swollen blood vessels near the anus and lower rectum that can rupture, causing bleeding)

Anal fissures (splits or cracks in the lining of the anal opening)

Intestinal infections that cause inflammation

Ulcers

Ulcerative colitis

Crohn’s disease

Diverticular disease, caused by outpouchings of the colon wall

Problems in the blood vessels in the large intestine

Meckel’s diverticulum, usually seen in children and young adults

Gastrointestinal bleeding may be microscopic, so you can’t see it. (Doctors call that “occult” blood.) Or you may easily see it as red blood, or black tar-like bowel movements.