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©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastrointest Surg. Jul 27, 2025; 17(7): 106471
Published online Jul 27, 2025. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.v17.i7.106471
Published online Jul 27, 2025. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.v17.i7.106471
Enhancing clinical practice: The role of digital rectal examination in diagnosing functional defecation disorders
Lian-Jun Zhu, School of Clinical Medicine, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu 610075, Sichuan Province, China
Xing-Lin Zeng, Department of General Surgery, Jiangbei Campus of The First Affiliated Hospital of Army Medical University, Chongqing 400020, China
Xiang-Dong Yang, Department of Colorectal and Anal Surgery, Chengdu Anorectal Hospital, Chengdu 610015, Sichuan Province, China
Author contributions: Zhu LJ and Yang XD contributed to the manuscript outline, composed the paper, and originated the concept for this manuscript; Zeng XL was responsible for sourcing and organizing relevant literature; Yang XD provided supervision, reviewed the paper, and finalized the manuscript; All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Xiang-Dong Yang, PhD, Professor, Department of Colorectal and Anal Surgery, Chengdu Anorectal Hospital, No. 152 Daqiang East Street, Taisheng South Road, Chengdu 610015, Sichuan Province, China. y-xd@vip.163.com
Received: March 5, 2025
Revised: May 7, 2025
Accepted: June 4, 2025
Published online: July 27, 2025
Processing time: 140 Days and 4.3 Hours
Revised: May 7, 2025
Accepted: June 4, 2025
Published online: July 27, 2025
Processing time: 140 Days and 4.3 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: In this study, we delineate a standardized digital rectal examination protocol for diagnosing functional defecation disorders and explore clinical metrics validated by dynamic imaging. By incorporating high-resolution defecographic imaging from representative cases, we can establish anatomic-pathophysiological correlations to increase diagnostic precision. These visual didactic tools serve as pivotal clinical references for training and clinical decision-making. The protocol is based on pathognomonic physical signs and systematic characterization, enabling targeted differential diagnosis and evidence-based therapeutic stratification in routine clinical workflows.