Featured Image Credit: Dr Ashwin Porwal's Healing Hands Clinic / YouTube
Let's be honest, no one likes a visit to the hospital. From the stench of disinfectant to the harsh lighting, we're often greeted by bad news or death, although hospitals also welcome the miracle of life into the world.
While the average hospital experience is uncomfortable enough, imagine being crammed inside a metal tube as you're zapped by powerful magnets and radio waves. Sliding yourself inside the claustrophobic cabin of an MRI scanner is unpleasant enough, but what if you have to go to the toilet while in there?
There are some weird and wonderful things that you probably didn't know you could do inside an MRI, and having already ticked off sexual intercourse and bringing yourself to an orgasm, you might be fascinated to know you can poop inside there.
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We're sure medical professionals would advise you to go to the toilet before getting inside an MRI, but just in case you have to go number two, it’s interesting to see what it looks like.
Answering the questions you probably never needed answering, magnetic resonance defecography is used to help doctors identify issues with a patient's rectal function.
Cleveland Clinic explains that defecography in an X-ray machine or an open MRI machine will involve the table tilting vertically, and a custom toilet will be put underneath you.
As you can imagine, it's a little more claustrophobic in a traditional tube-like MRI.
Using a contrast gel to map the pelvic floor, ultrasound jelly and a catheter are inserted into your back passage while you're placed inside a diaper.
Although it's described as a 'noninvasive test', we're not sure everyone would agree with that synopsis.
Before undergoing defecography, you might be given an enema to clear out your bowels at home, while you might also be told to modify your diet, medication that you're on, and water intake before the procedure.
Either way, your healthcare provider will be there to guide you through it.
Most agree that it's a painless procedure, but like anything medical, there are a couple of typical horror stories or potential exaggerations online.
Barium sulfate has a similar consistency to poop, and once it's inserted in the rectum, it acts in a similar way (just coming from a different direction).
On command, you're told to clench your pelvic muscles in various ways, then eventually pass the jelly – as well as anything else you might need to evacuate from up there.
A fascinating (if a little gross) animation shows things in action, and yep, you can definitely poop inside an MRI scanner.
Whereas all X-ray and MRI exams have to be performed by certified radiologists, defecography involves a specialist who is experienced in anorectal motility.
For those who are having trouble pooping, might find themselves holding in waste, or experience unwanted sensations when going to the toilet, defecography is an important part of diagnosing medical issues.
