The specificity and sensitivity are equal to/better than the guaiac method and are highly specific.

Reference interval: negative

Clinical significance: 1) Judgment of gastrointestinal bleeding; 2) Differentiation of peptic ulcer and tumor bleeding

The common white blood cells in feces are neutrophils, and those with intact morphology are no different from granulocytes in blood.

Under pathological conditions, neutrophils are gray-white, have swollen cell bodies, are necrotic, have incomplete broken structures, are filled with small particles in the cytoplasm, and have unclear nuclei (ie, pus cells), and often appear in piles.

There are no/occasionally white blood cells in the feces of healthy people.

Under pathological conditions, the number of white blood cells is related to the degree and location of inflammation. ①Inflammation of the small intestine: The increase in white blood cells is not obvious, usually less than 15/HP, scattered and difficult to identify. ② Bacillary dysentery and ulcerative colitis: A large number of white blood cells and small phagocytes that engulf foreign bodies appear, concentrated in areas with mucus or pus and blood in the feces. ③Irritable bowel syndrome and intestinal parasitic diseases (especially hookworm disease and amoebic dysentery): More eosinophils are seen, often accompanied by Charcot-Leyden crystals.

large phagocytes

Epithelial Cells

tumor cells

Red blood cells The red blood cells in the feces are grass-green, slightly refractive disc-shaped, and sometimes appear shrunken due to the influence of the pH of the feces.

There are no red blood cells in the feces of healthy people.

Ascaris eggs, whipworm eggs, hookworm eggs, paragonimiasis eggs, liver fluke eggs, ginger worm eggs, schistosomiasis eggs, etc. are commonly found in fecal smears.

1) Entamoeba histolytica: Fresh red mucus is present in the stool during amebic dysentery. Trophozoites or cysts can be seen under the microscope.

2) Giardia lamblia: Mainly found in the thin stools of infected children with diarrhea and tourists.

3) Cryptosporidium: Tiny in size, it can often cause immune deficiency syndrome and diarrhea in children.

There are more normal flora in the feces of healthy people. Escherichia coli and Enterococcus are the main ones in the feces of adults. Bacterium dipyrum, Enterobacter, and Enterococcus are the main ones in the feces of young children, accounting for about 1/3 of the dry weight of the feces. Under normal circumstances, an ecological balance is maintained between bacteria and the host, and the ratio of cocci/bacilli in feces is approximately 1:10.

Very rare in normal stool.

Fungal spores are 3 to 5 pm in diameter, round or oval, have strong refractive properties, are Gram stain positive, and mostly have hyphae.

Common fungi in feces are common yeast-like fungi and Candida albicans-like fungi.

Excluding contamination of stool specimens, it is common in the stool of patients who take large amounts of antibiotics, hormones, and immunosuppressants.

Fat

starch granules

muscle fiber

Plant cells and plant fibers

A variety of crystals can be seen in the feces, which are generally of no clinical significance.

The occurrence of Charcot-Leyden crystals and heme crystals indicates gastrointestinal bleeding.

Mainly seen in gastrointestinal bleeding, amoebic dysentery, hookworm disease and allergic colitis, which are often accompanied by eosinophilia.

Stool testing is the most direct and reliable way to diagnose intestinal parasitic infections.

[Reference interval] Normal stool microscopic examination shows no red blood cells, occasional white blood cells, no parasites and eggs, and a small amount of food residues.