feces
Let an agent explain faeces in neutral clinical and biological terms, relay health, sanitation and diagnostic information from authoritative sources, describe agricultural, ecological and archaeological uses, and route personal health questions to clinicians.
Research draft, second pass
A second pass drafted this model: the structure a model of this thing needs, and what is known about it in the world. The line under this one says how the second half was obtained - researched against sources, or recalled without web access, in which case nothing here was read anywhere and every claim is a lead to verify. Unreviewed either way.
written by Claude from model knowledge without web access - no source was read, every claim is a lead to verify
Researched by: Claude
Purpose and description
Let an agent explain faeces in neutral clinical and biological terms, relay health, sanitation and diagnostic information from authoritative sources, describe agricultural, ecological and archaeological uses, and route personal health questions to clinicians.
Solid or semi-solid waste discharged from the digestive tract of humans and animals, consisting of undigested food, bacteria, water, shed cells and bile pigments; faeces are examined in medicine to diagnose disease, are a route of infection when sanitation fails, are used as fertiliser and fuel in agriculture, and are studied in ecology and archaeology, where animal droppings and preserved coprolites reveal diet and behaviour.
What it is for: Elimination of waste; secondary uses as fertiliser, fuel and evidence.
It can be explain composition and function; relay health and sanitation information; describe agricultural and scientific uses; route personal questions to clinicians.
Distinguishing features
Digestive waste
Rich in bacteria
Diagnostic value
Sanitation significance
What it looks like
Varies by species and diet; typically brown from bile pigments in humans, with forms from pellets to pats in animals.
Physical character
water content, human: about 75 percent
bacterial share of dry mass: about 25-50 percent
How it is recognised
Waste from the digestive tract
Species-specific forms and composition
Urine is liquid waste from the kidneys; vomit is from the stomach
Related models
is a kind of - in registry terms
is a kind of - in registry terms
is produced by - the source
is used as - in agriculture
In practice
Families and kinds
human faeces
livestock manure such as sheep and chicken droppings
wildlife droppings used in tracking such as impala and red panda
bird faeces and guano
amphibian and other animal faeces
coprolites in palaeontology and archaeology
Identifiers
MeSH D005243 feces
Standards and regulation
Sanitation and wastewater standards
Manure management and nutrient regulations
Clinical laboratory standards for stool testing
Faecal microbiota transplant regulation
Failure modes and hazards
Faecal-oral transmission of disease
Water pollution from manure
Agents giving personal medical advice
Non-neutral or humorous presentation where clinical is needed
Also called
Where this came from
wikidata · CC0 1.0
Drafted structure
Bundle to layer to finding to question, as the second pass will find it: 4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions.
Biology Composition and formation.
Clinical description.
Composition
Composition.
Composition
Composition.
- What are faeces made of, and how are they formed? definition
- Is the presentation neutral and clinical? boundary
Variation
Variation across species.
Variation
Variation.
- How do faeces differ across species and diets? definition
- Which entry fits the specific animal? action
Health Health and diagnosis.
Clinical.
Diagnosis
Stool testing.
Diagnosis
Diagnosis.
- What do stool tests detect, and what do scales such as the Bristol scale describe? provenance
- Is the user describing their own symptoms, which need a clinician? boundary
Sanitation
Sanitation.
Sanitation
Sanitation.
- How does faecal contamination spread disease, and what do sanitation programmes require? provenance
- Which entry fits sanitation? action
Use Agricultural and scientific use.
Practice.
Agriculture
Manure and fuel.
Agriculture
Agriculture.
- How are manure and dung used as fertiliser and fuel, and what rules apply? provenance
- Which entry fits manure management? action
Science
Ecology and archaeology.
Science
Science.
- How do ecologists track animals by droppings, and what do coprolites reveal? provenance
- Which references are standard? provenance
Context Research and culture.
Context.
Microbiome
Microbiome research.
Microbiome
Microbiome.
- What does research on the gut microbiome and faecal transplants report, with findings attributed? provenance
- Which sources are cited? provenance
Culture
Culture and language.
Culture
Culture.
- How do cultures and languages treat the topic, and what terms are appropriate in different registers? provenance
- Is the register appropriate? boundary
What the second pass must settle
- Should manure and coprolite be separate entries?
- How should sanitation and clinical standards be linked?
- The registry entry has merged aliases naming species-specific faeces; should they be split off?