OT-Vespa's Medical Trivia

[vespapod]

Hopefully a weekly fun addition to the board:

What makes poop brown?

[Shangeris]

I'll try.. because it's made of thiol, hydrogen sulfide and methane?

[conroy]

Because all the nutrients have been extracted during the digestive process and absorbed by the body?

[vespapod]

Nope...

[moonstone]

Now I'm strangely reminded off an art teacher in midle school who used to ask why the sky is blue or the grass was green. The answer was that the sky isn't blue and the grass isn't green, they are both all colours. Please tell me this isn't the case with poo! and if it is then why was dog poo in the 1970's quite often white? ... Just asking.

[Shangeris]

It's brown because of the presence of stercobilinogen (produced by the degrdation of the bilirubin). At the contact with air the stercobilinogen oxydates in stercobilin and becomes darker.

[Shangeris]

That MUST be right!

[vespapod]

But where is that substance coming from...(your good a googling)

[sockii]

I always figured it was just like pigments in color theory - mix too many things together and you just get a yucky brown color...

[smudge]

Is it expired red blood cells? I dimly remember that from biology class, but since I quit at 14, I'm probably wrong.

[TheEqualizer]

Old blood cells

[dafttart]

Is it because we eat shit?!

[TheEqualizer]

Is it because we eat shit?!

[AnaliaFer]

Color is not specifically for what we eat. is the decomposition of hemoglobin. when the hemoglobin molecule ceases to function discards the body decomposing in 2 molecules biliverdin and bilirubin and thus passes the digestive system. when combined give the brown color. when someone has high bilirubin is that the body does not eliminate only biliverdin at the time the stool is greenish

(OK, I used google and google translator, but it was fun to try!!)

[vespapod]

Smudge wins the poop prize....old blood cells is the right answer....the browner the shit the healthier you are...eat your greens!!!

Follow up poop question knowing what we know about brown poop....

Why do babies poop yellow the first few days of life???