flatulence
Enable an AI agent to recognise reported or observed passage of intestinal gas through the anus, assess its pattern and impact, and identify appropriate recording, support or further assessment.
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
5 bundles · 9 layers · 16 findings · 24 questions
Gas passage recognition Establishes whether the record concerns anal gas passage and how that conclusion was reached.
Route and material
Identifies the reported exit route and distinguishes gas from accompanying material.
Anal gas event
A candidate event must be characterised by reported or observed anal gas passage rather than by a nonspecific sensation.
- Was gas reported or observed passing through the anus, or was only pressure, sound or odour noticed? definition
- Was stool, mucus or another material also passed and therefore in need of a separate linked record? boundary
Evidence and event boundaries
Preserves who identified the passage and how individual releases were counted.
Attributed event record
The record distinguishes direct experience, external observation and uncertain inference, and makes its event-counting convention explicit.
- Who reported or observed the passage, and what evidence supports identifying it as flatulence? provenance
- Were closely spaced releases counted separately or as one episode, and could any records describe the same event? measurement
Passage pattern and qualities Describes how often gas passes, when it occurs and which qualities are actually known.
Frequency and baseline
Quantifies passage within an observation window and compares it with prior experience.
Observed frequency change
Counts or estimates are interpretable only alongside observation coverage and a stated comparison period.
- How many events or episodes occurred during what interval, and which parts of that interval were unobserved? measurement
- How does this compare with the person's usual pattern, and when was the change first noticed? measurement
Sound, odour and amount
Records perceived qualities while keeping them distinct from physical measurements.
Sensory report limits
Sound, odour and perceived amount retain their observer and measurement status rather than serving as proxies for gas composition or volume.
- Which qualities were noticed, by whom, and were they merely detectable or bothersome? measurement
- Is any stated gas amount directly measured, a subjective estimate or unknown? provenance
Awareness, control and burden Captures whether passage was anticipated or wanted and what effects it had.
Awareness and deferral
Separates intention, advance awareness and the ability to postpone passage.
Wanted and unwanted passage
An episode can be deliberate, unwanted despite awareness or noticed only after it occurred.
- Was the person aware that gas was about to pass, and did they intend to release it? measurement
- If the person tried to postpone passage, were they able to do so? measurement
Sensations and disruption
Connects passage to reported sensations and consequences in daily life.
Experienced burden
Physical sensations and social effects are recorded as experienced, including whether passage changes discomfort.
- What pressure, bloating or pain was reported before and after passage, and did it improve, worsen or remain unchanged? measurement
- Did the episode interrupt an activity, cause embarrassment or lead the person to avoid a situation? measurement
Context and response Links the passage pattern to relevant circumstances and supports review of possible next steps.
Temporal associations
Records candidate associations with intake, bowel activity and routine without assigning unsupported causes.
Candidate pattern associations
A proposed trigger remains a hypothesis unless the available evidence supports a stronger conclusion.
- What meals, drinks, medicines, supplements, bowel movements or activities preceded the episodes, and by how long? measurement
- Does the association recur across comparable observations, and what other changes could explain it? provenance
Management and assessment
Tracks authorised responses and identifies when decisions need a neighbouring clinical model.
Response outcome and handoff
A response is linked to its intended benefit and observed outcome; diagnosis and clinical escalation criteria remain externally governed.
- What person-chosen or clinician-directed change was tried, when, and what happened to frequency, control or burden? action
- Do accompanying symptoms or changes meet an applicable validated policy for further assessment, and which policy supports that decision? action
Evidence and external alignment What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.
Reported evidence
Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.
Kinds and varieties
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Which of these kinds and varieties hold for the sense of flatulence this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Identifiers and schemes
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Which of these identifiers and schemes hold for the sense of flatulence this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Standards and regulation
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Which of these standards and regulation hold for the sense of flatulence this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Real-world use
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of flatulence this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Typical measurements
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Which of these typical measurements hold for the sense of flatulence this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Failure modes and hazards
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of flatulence this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Regional variation
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Which of these regional variation hold for the sense of flatulence this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of flatulence this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- Thing Registry
- Category
- Information and virtual systems
- Entry kind
- thing
- Plane
- INF
- Domain
- INF.KNW
- Other names and narrower kinds
- silent fart, high-altitude flatus expulsion
What it is Filled
Anal expulsion of flatus: a variable mixture of swallowed nitrogen (with residual oxygen) that has reached the colon, plus hydrogen, carbon dioxide, methane and trace sulfur gases generated by colonic microbiota fermenting unabsorbed carbohydrate and protein.
In scope
- Individual gas-passage events and recurring patterns
- Reported or observed evidence, including uncertainty about occurrence
- Frequency, timing, perceived sound and odour
- Awareness, ability to defer passage and unwanted episodes
- Associated sensations, activity disruption and social impact
- Temporal associations with intake, bowel activity and changes in routine
Out of scope
- Belching and other gas release through the mouth
- Bloating or abdominal distension without established anal gas passage
- Underlying digestive diseases and their diagnostic models
- Faecal incontinence and stool characteristics beyond their association with a gas event
- Food, medication and supplement models, including prescribing decisions
- Ambient odour or air-quality events without evidence of bodily gas passage
Why it exists Filled
Enable an AI agent to recognise reported or observed passage of intestinal gas through the anus, assess its pattern and impact, and identify appropriate recording, support or further assessment.
Distinguishing features Filled
- The reported route is through the anus; gas released through the mouth belongs to belching.
- An event concerns passage of gas; abdominal fullness or visible enlargement alone does not establish flatulence.
- Sound or odour alone is insufficient when its source cannot be established, and their absence does not exclude a reported event.
- Passage of stool or mucus is recorded separately, even when it occurs alongside gas.
- Unwanted gas passage is distinguished from deliberate passage by the person's awareness, intention and ability to defer it.
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- Mock or shame a person for flatulence.
- Diagnose a digestive condition in a specific person.
- Promote unproven remedies or restrictive diets without medical advice.
Only with a human decision
- Recommending tests or diet changes for a person with ongoing symptoms.
May
- Explain flatulence and its causes in plain, factual terms from reliable sources.
- Suggest seeing a clinician when gas comes with pain, weight loss or bleeding.
Moral aspects Filled
- Embarrassment can stop people from seeking care for real problems.
- Bodily functions deserve dignity, not ridicule.
Who is affected
- People with digestive symptoms
- Patients
- Children teased at school
Owners Filled
Steward
Nobody owns a bodily function; each person owns their own body.
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- Q185557 - registry parent class
- Q54926352 - registry parent class
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- Vercy registry: vr.tr.flatulence
- Wikidata: Q160184 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q160184)
Direct properties not applicable Not applicable
- Occurrence evidence: person-reported | directly observed | instrument-recorded | uncertain; multiple values permitted
- Event frequency: events per stated observation interval, with counting method and coverage
- Pattern relative to personal baseline: unchanged | increased | decreased | newly noticed | unknown
- Timing and clustering: event timestamps, cluster duration in minutes, or approximate time windows
- Perceived sensory qualities: sound and odour each recorded as unnoticed | noticed | bothersome | unknown, with observer attribution
- Control over passage: deliberate | successfully deferred | unwanted despite awareness | occurred without prior awareness | unclear
- Associated sensations: linked reports of pressure, bloating, pain or relief, each with timing and person attribution
- Functional and social impact: none reported | discomfort | embarrassment | interrupted activity | avoidance; multiple values permitted
- Contextual association: time-linked meals, drinks, medicines, supplements, bowel movements, posture or activity; causal status unestablished unless separately supported
Plane INF: no invented physical properties.
Recognition optional Filled
- A brief sound associated with gas passing through the anus can indicate flatulence, although passage may be silent.
- A transient odor may accompany passage, but odor alone cannot establish its source.
- Reported anal passage distinguishes flatulence from belching, which releases gas through the mouth.
Capabilities and actions required Filled
- Record a gas-passage event while preserving evidence, privacy preferences and uncertainty.
- Summarise frequency and clustering over a clearly defined observation period.
- Compare the current pattern, control and burden with the person's own baseline.
- Explore time-linked contexts without asserting that they caused the flatulence.
- Track the outcome of a person-chosen or clinician-directed management change.
- Prepare a symptom summary for further assessment using an external, validated clinical decision policy.
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- Embarrassment or ridicule can cause distress and discourage discussion of symptoms.
- Attributing persistent or painful digestive symptoms solely to ordinary flatulence can delay assessment of another condition.
- Inferring a specific illness from odor or frequency alone can lead to inaccurate conclusions.
Standards and interfaces required Filled
- ICD-10 category R14, issued by the World Health Organization, classifies flatulence and related conditions for health recording.
Context of use required Filled
- Flatulence occurs during ordinary digestion as intestinal gas leaves the body through the anus.
- Its frequency, associated discomfort and social impact may be recorded in personal care or clinical assessment.
Sources Filled
- Gas in the Digestive Tract. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIH). - Clinical framing of intestinal gas as swallowed air plus colonic fermentation; everyday frequency and dietary triggers.
- Investigation of normal flatus production in healthy volunteers. Gut (BMJ Publishing Group), 1991. - Measured 24-hour volume and passage counts in healthy adults; basis for typical volume and frequency ranges.
- Identification of gases responsible for the odour of human flatus and evaluation of a device purported to reduce this odour. Gut (BMJ Publishing Group), 1998. - Sulfur gases as the odorants of flatus; distinction of malodorous from largely odorless nitrogen/hydrogen/methane mixtures.
- Hydrogen and Methane-Based Breath Testing in Gastrointestinal Disorders: The North American Consensus. American Journal of Gastroenterology, 2017. - Standardized clinical measurement of the fermentative gases that make up most flatus; hydrogen versus methane producer phenotypes.
- ICD-10-CM R14.3 Flatulence. CDC National Center for Health Statistics. - Official clinical classification of flatulence as a symptom code, distinct from eructation and gaseous distension.
- flatulence (Q160289). Wikidata. - Canonical public identifier and crosswalks to MeSH and other catalogues.
- Wikidata item Q160184: flatulence - identity and sense of the item
- Wikipedia: Flatulence - general description of the item
Open questions
- Should the registry entry own both individual gas-passage events and the recurring symptom pattern, or link these to separate event and state models?
- What observation methods and counting conventions provide sufficiently reliable frequency estimates without imposing excessive recording burden?
- Which validated measures, if any, should represent flatulence-related bother, odour perception and ability to defer passage?
- Where should ownership of recurrent involuntary gas passage sit relative to continence and pelvic-floor models?
- Which population-specific clinical policies should govern assessment handoffs, and what minimum accompanying information do they require?
Machine files
Provenance
thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed
Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q160184/spec.json