Blood in Stool in Spanish

What it means

Blood in the stool is a sign of bleeding in the digestive tract. MedlinePlus lists "blood in the stool" among the alternative names for rectal bleeding, in which blood passes from the rectum or anus and may be noted on the stool or seen as blood on toilet paper or in the toilet. The color of the blood may indicate the source of bleeding. Red or fresh blood usually means that the source is the lower gastrointestinal (GI) tract (colon, rectum, and anus). Black or tarry stools, called melena, may be due to bleeding in the upper part of the GI tract. The amount of bleeding can be so small that only a lab test can find it. GI bleeding is not a disease, but a symptom of a disease.

Spanish term: Sangre en las heces
Gender and article: feminine: la sangre en las heces
Pronunciation: SAHN-greh ehn lahs EH-sehs

Other Spanish terms	Where it is used	Note
sangrado rectal	General	Title of the MedlinePlus en español article that lists sangre en las heces among its alternative names.
heces con sangre	General	MedlinePlus en español lists "Heces - con sangre" among the alternative names of its article on black or tarry stools.
hematoquecia	General	Term that the MedlinePlus en español article on rectal bleeding says is used to describe the finding; it is also in that article's list of alternative names.

Sangre en las heces appears in MedlinePlus en español among the alternative names of its article Sangrado rectal, and both encyclopedia articles cited here use the phrase in their text. Sangre is feminine (la sangre), and heces is a feminine plural (las heces), as in heces negras and heces duras. The article on black or tarry stools also says deposiciones where the English text says stool, and the article on rectal bleeding uses the verb defecar.

Two medical terms in these articles are hematoquecia, used for rectal bleeding in which the blood may be bright red, and melena, used for black or tarry stools (heces negras o alquitranosas). Bright red blood is sangre de color rojo brillante or sangre roja brillante, and fresh blood is sangre fresca. Toilet paper is papel higiénico and the toilet is el inodoro. For the digestive tract the articles say tracto gastrointestinal, with superior for upper and inferior for lower.

Phrases for an appointment

What a patient or a clinician might say, in English and Spanish:

Who	English	Spanish
Patient	I saw bright red blood in the toilet after a bowel movement.	Vi sangre de color rojo brillante en el inodoro después de defecar.
Clinician	Is the blood mixed with the stool, or only on the toilet paper?	¿La sangre está mezclada con las heces, o solo en el papel higiénico?
Patient	Mostly on the toilet paper, but today there was some on the stool too.	Sobre todo en el papel higiénico, pero hoy también había un poco en las heces.
Clinician	What color are your stools? Have they been black or tarry?	¿De qué color son las heces? ¿Han sido negras o alquitranosas?
Patient	No, they are not black. This is the third time this week that I have seen blood.	No, no son negras. Es la tercera vez esta semana que veo sangre.
Clinician	Do you have pain in the anal area when you have a bowel movement?	¿Tiene dolor en la zona anal al defecar?
Clinician	Have you lost weight recently, or have you had abdominal pain or diarrhea?	¿Ha perdido peso recientemente, o ha tenido dolor abdominal o diarrea?
Clinician	If you feel dizzy or faint, or if you vomit blood, call 911 or go to the emergency room right away.	Si siente mareo o que se va a desmayar, o si vomita sangre, llame al 911 o vaya a la sala de emergencias de inmediato.

In 9 languages

Language	Term
English	Blood in Stool
Spanish (Español)	Sangre en las heces
Chinese (中文)	糞便帶血
Korean (한국어)	혈변
Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt)	Phân có máu
Filipino (Tagalog)	Dugo sa dumi
Portuguese (Português)	Sangue nas fezes
Thai (ภาษาไทย)	เลือดในอุจจาระ
Japanese (日本語)	血便

Where you'll see it

charttriage noteintake formmedical record

Related ICD-10-CM category

ICD-10-CM code: K92 → Other diseases of digestive system

Related terms

Your right to an interpreter in the United States

If English is not your primary language and you have difficulty communicating in English, you may need an interpreter or a translated document when you visit a doctor or dentist, go to the emergency room or pick up a prescription. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights states that two federal laws, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, require programs that receive its funding to provide language access services free of charge.

You can ask when you make the appointment or at the front desk: "I need an interpreter, please." «Necesito un intérprete, por favor.»

More terms: Digestive system

All terms in this area: Digestive system — Sistema digestivo

Sources

This page is a language reference. It is not medical advice.