To all regarding black tarry stools:
If a person has bright red blood in the stool, it could be from bleeding
hemmoroids, or bleeding in the lower digestive track. On the other
hand, black tarry stools (blood that has decomposed) indicates bleeding
further up in the digestive track. Both should be reported to your
doctor. Normal stool of course is brown, why? Our blood cells are in a
continual process of being made and then wearing out and being excreted
in the stool, along with other stuff from food that the body can't use.
Even when a person stops eating, the body still produces stool, mostly
from the breakdown of blood cells.
Mary Lou