If taste receptors seem out of place anywhere other than the mouth, this is only because they were first found in taste buds on the tongue, says neurobiologist Thomas Finger, co-director of the University of Colorado's Rocky Mountain Taste and Smell Center in Aurora.
Symptoms may include abdominal pain, vomiting, rectal pain and diarrhea. Left untreated chronic and ongoing blood in the stool can lead to severe blood loss over time (anemia). Symptoms of anemia can include weakness, dizziness, hypotension, fainting and shortness of breath. Blood in the stool may also occur without other noticeable symptoms.
Causes of blood in the stool range from harmless, annoying conditions of the gastrointestinal tract such as hemorrhoids and anal tears (anal fissures) from straining against hard stools with constipation to serious conditions such as cancer. Blood in the stool should be evaluated by a health care professional. Rectal bleeding (known medically as hematochezia) refers to passage of bright red blood from the anus, often mixed with stool and/or blood clots. Most rectal bleeding comes from the colon, rectum, or anus and can be associated with diarrhea.