Jelly stool

Stool with a gelatinous, currant jelly appearance due to admixture of blood, mucus, and sloughed intestinal mucosa, reflecting intestinal mucosal injury, inflammation, ischemia, or bleeding.

Causes

• Mechanical and ischemic causes

  • Intestinal intussusception

  • Bowel ischemia

  • Intestinal infarction

  • Volvulus

  • Strangulated bowel obstruction

• Infectious causes

  • Infectious enterocolitis

    • Salmonella infection

    • Norovirus infection

    • Other invasive bacterial enterocolitis

  • Parasitic intestinal infections

  • Amebic dysentery (Entamoeba histolytica)

• Inflammatory bowel diseases

  • Crohn's disease

  • Ulcerative colitis

  • Radiation colitis

• Gastrointestinal bleeding causes

  • Lower gastrointestinal bleeding

  • Meckel's diverticulum with bleeding

  • Colorectal polyps

  • Colorectal cancer

  • Diverticular bleeding

  • Anal or rectal bleeding sources