FPCC – Bowel Elimination – 2026 – Study Guide and
Nursing Review Notes
Defecation - ANS✔✔ elimination of feces
Feces - ANS✔✔ solid wastes; stool
Valsalva maneuver - ANS✔✔ contracting the abdominal muscles while maintaining a closed
airway
Peristalsis - ANS✔✔ Involuntary constricts and relaxation of the muscles that push the contents
of the canal forward
type 1 stool - ANS✔✔ separate hard lumps like nuts (difficult to pass)
type 2 stool - ANS✔✔ sausage shaped but lumpy
type 3 stool - ANS✔✔ Like a sausage but with cracks on surface
type 4 stool - ANS✔✔ like a sausage or snake, smooth and soft
type 5 stool - ANS✔✔ Soft blobs with clear-cut edges (passed easily)
type 6 stool - ANS✔✔ fluffy pieces with ragged edges, a mushy stool
type 7 stool - ANS✔✔ watery, no solid pieces (entirely liquid)
, hyper parastolisis - ANS✔✔ hyper active bowel sounds, diarrhea
Hypoparastolisis - ANS✔✔ constipation
_____ gurgles per min in normal bowel sounds - ANS✔✔ 5-15
indirect visualization - ANS✔✔ gallstones, fecal impaction, and distended bowel
-flat plate of the abdomen
-Barium enema
-Ultrasound
-Computed Tomography (CT) scan
Direct Visualization - ANS✔✔ -Esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) - using a cam / scope to
look at the upper GI
-Colonoscopy- look at colon or large intestine
-Sigmoidoscopy- look at sigmoid
Laboratory studies - ANS✔✔ checks stool for occult blood/guaiac test
Bowel Incontinence - ANS✔✔ involuntary passage of stool
Chronic Constipation - ANS✔✔ 3 months or longer , can result in fecal impaction- dry/hard stool
in the rectum that can't be passed
Bowel diversions - ANS✔✔ Surgically created opening for elimination for digestive waste
products
Nursing Review Notes
Defecation - ANS✔✔ elimination of feces
Feces - ANS✔✔ solid wastes; stool
Valsalva maneuver - ANS✔✔ contracting the abdominal muscles while maintaining a closed
airway
Peristalsis - ANS✔✔ Involuntary constricts and relaxation of the muscles that push the contents
of the canal forward
type 1 stool - ANS✔✔ separate hard lumps like nuts (difficult to pass)
type 2 stool - ANS✔✔ sausage shaped but lumpy
type 3 stool - ANS✔✔ Like a sausage but with cracks on surface
type 4 stool - ANS✔✔ like a sausage or snake, smooth and soft
type 5 stool - ANS✔✔ Soft blobs with clear-cut edges (passed easily)
type 6 stool - ANS✔✔ fluffy pieces with ragged edges, a mushy stool
type 7 stool - ANS✔✔ watery, no solid pieces (entirely liquid)
, hyper parastolisis - ANS✔✔ hyper active bowel sounds, diarrhea
Hypoparastolisis - ANS✔✔ constipation
_____ gurgles per min in normal bowel sounds - ANS✔✔ 5-15
indirect visualization - ANS✔✔ gallstones, fecal impaction, and distended bowel
-flat plate of the abdomen
-Barium enema
-Ultrasound
-Computed Tomography (CT) scan
Direct Visualization - ANS✔✔ -Esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) - using a cam / scope to
look at the upper GI
-Colonoscopy- look at colon or large intestine
-Sigmoidoscopy- look at sigmoid
Laboratory studies - ANS✔✔ checks stool for occult blood/guaiac test
Bowel Incontinence - ANS✔✔ involuntary passage of stool
Chronic Constipation - ANS✔✔ 3 months or longer , can result in fecal impaction- dry/hard stool
in the rectum that can't be passed
Bowel diversions - ANS✔✔ Surgically created opening for elimination for digestive waste
products
