Gastrointestinal Bleeding

Summary

Your digestive or gastrointestinal (GI) tract includes the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine or colon, rectum, and anus. Bleeding can come from any of these areas. The amount of bleeding can be so small that only a lab test can find it.

Signs of bleeding in the digestive tract depend where it is and how much bleeding there is.

Signs of bleeding in the upper digestive tract include:

• Bright red blood in vomit
• Vomit that looks like coffee grounds
• Black or tarry stool
• Dark blood mixed with stool

Signs of bleeding in the lower digestive tract include:

• Black or tarry stool
• Dark blood mixed with stool
• Stool mixed or coated with bright red blood

GI bleeding is not a disease, but a symptom of a disease. There are many possible causes of GI bleeding, including hemorrhoids, peptic ulcers, tears or inflammation in the esophagus, diverticulosis and diverticulitis, ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, colonic polyps, or cancer in the colon, stomach or esophagus.

The test used most often to look for the cause of GI bleeding is called endoscopy. It uses a flexible instrument inserted through the mouth or rectum to view the inside of the GI tract. A type of endoscopy called colonoscopy looks at the large intestine.

NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

Diagnosis and Tests

• Abdominal Pain (Stomach Pain), Long-Term American Academy of Family Physicians
• Abdominal Pain (Stomach Pain), Short-Term American Academy of Family Physicians
• Capsule Endoscopy Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
• Colonoscopy: MedlinePlus Health Topic National Library of Medicine
• Fecal Occult Blood Test (FOBT) National Library of Medicine
• Lower GI Series (Barium Enema) National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
• Small Bowel Bleeding American College of Gastroenterology
• Upper GI Endoscopy National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

Find an Expert

• American College of Gastroenterology American College of Gastroenterology
• ASGE: Find a Doctor American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy
• Find a Gastroenterologist American College of Gastroenterology
• National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

Patient Handouts

• Black or tarry stools Medical Encyclopedia
• Bleeding esophageal varices Medical Encyclopedia
• Gastrointestinal bleeding Medical Encyclopedia
• Lower GI Series National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
• Mallory-Weiss tear Medical Encyclopedia
• Vomiting blood Medical Encyclopedia

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage National Institutes of Health

Encyclopedia

• Enteroscopy Medical Encyclopedia
• Ferritin blood test Medical Encyclopedia
• Gastrointestinal perforation Medical Encyclopedia
• Mesenteric angiography Medical Encyclopedia
• RBC nuclear scan Medical Encyclopedia
• Stool guaiac test Medical Encyclopedia

Specifics

• Esophageal Varices Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
• Proctitis Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
• Proctitis National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
• Rectal Bleeding Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
• Understanding Minor Rectal Bleeding American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy

Start Here

• Gastrointestinal (GI) Bleeding National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
• GI bleeding – series — Normal anatomy Medical Encyclopedia

Journal Articles

• Gastrointestinal Bleeding

Related Issues

• Stool Color: When to Worry Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
• Vomiting Blood Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research

Children

• Stool Tests Nemours Foundation
• Upper GI Bleeding in Children North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition

Reference Desk

• Your Digestive System and How It Works National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases