Poop
"Fecal Matter" redirects here. For the American grunge band, see Fecal Matter (band).
Not to be confused with facies.
Not to be confused with excretion.
Elephant feces
Cyclosia papilionaris consuming bird droppings
Feces, faeces, or fæces (see spelling differences), also known as excrement, is a waste product from an animal's digestive tract expelled through the anus or cloaca during a process called defecation.
Contents [hide]
1 Etymology
2 Ecology
3 Human feces
4 Odor
5 Pets
6 Uses
7 Social implications
8 Animal feces
9 Bibliography
10 See also
11 References
12 Further reading
13 External links
Etymology
The word faeces is the plural of the Latin word fæx meaning "dregs". There is no singular form in the English language, making it a plurale tantum.[1] There are many colloquial terms for feces, of which some are considered profanity (such as shit) while others (such as poo, poop, number two, deuce, doodoo, dookie and doody) are not. Terms such as dung, scat, spoor and droppings are normally used to refer to animal feces.
Stool is a common term normally used in reference to human feces. For example, in medicine to diagnose the presence or absence of a medical condition, a stool sample is sometimes requested for testing purposes.[2] The term "stool" can also be used for that of non-human species.
Ecology
The Cassowary disperses plant seeds via its feces.
Earthworm feces aid in provision of minerals and plant nutrients in an accessible form
After an animal has digested eaten material, the remains of that material are expelled from its body as waste. Though it is lower in energy than the food it came from, feces may still contain a large amount of energy, often 50% of that of the original food.[3] This means that of all food eaten, a significant amount of energy remains for the decomposers of ecosystems. Many organisms feed on feces, from bacteria to fungi to insects such as dung beetles, which can sense odors from
Not to be confused with facies.
Not to be confused with excretion.
Elephant feces
Cyclosia papilionaris consuming bird droppings
Feces, faeces, or fæces (see spelling differences), also known as excrement, is a waste product from an animal's digestive tract expelled through the anus or cloaca during a process called defecation.
Contents [hide]
1 Etymology
2 Ecology
3 Human feces
4 Odor
5 Pets
6 Uses
7 Social implications
8 Animal feces
9 Bibliography
10 See also
11 References
12 Further reading
13 External links
Etymology
The word faeces is the plural of the Latin word fæx meaning "dregs". There is no singular form in the English language, making it a plurale tantum.[1] There are many colloquial terms for feces, of which some are considered profanity (such as shit) while others (such as poo, poop, number two, deuce, doodoo, dookie and doody) are not. Terms such as dung, scat, spoor and droppings are normally used to refer to animal feces.
Stool is a common term normally used in reference to human feces. For example, in medicine to diagnose the presence or absence of a medical condition, a stool sample is sometimes requested for testing purposes.[2] The term "stool" can also be used for that of non-human species.
Ecology
The Cassowary disperses plant seeds via its feces.
Earthworm feces aid in provision of minerals and plant nutrients in an accessible form
After an animal has digested eaten material, the remains of that material are expelled from its body as waste. Though it is lower in energy than the food it came from, feces may still contain a large amount of energy, often 50% of that of the original food.[3] This means that of all food eaten, a significant amount of energy remains for the decomposers of ecosystems. Many organisms feed on feces, from bacteria to fungi to insects such as dung beetles, which can sense odors from