Abscess: a collection of pus collected in a cavity formed by an infectious process (usually caused by bacteria or parasites) or other foreign materials (e.g. splinters or bullet wounds). Perianal abscesses can be seen in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (such as Crohn's disease) or diabetes. This often presents itself as a tender lump or knot near the anus which grows larger and more painful with the passage of time. It may burst by itself, releasing pus and decreasing the pain dramatically

American College of Surgeons: a scientific and educational association of surgeons in the United States that was founded in 1913 to improve the quality of care for the surgical patient by setting high standards for surgical education and practice. Members of the American College of Surgeons are referred to as Fellows. The letters FACS (Fellow, American College of Surgeons) after a surgeon's name mean that the surgeon's education and training, professional qualifications, surgical competence, and ethical conduct have passed a rigorous evaluation, and have been found to be consistent with the high standards established and demanded by the College. The College currently has more than 64,000 Fellows, including more than 3,700 Fellows in other countries, making it the largest organization of surgeons in the world.

American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons: a national association of colon and rectal surgeons and other surgeons dedicated to advancing and promoting the science and practice of the treatment of patients with diseases and disorders affecting the colon, rectum and anus.

Anus: the external opening of the rectum. Closure is controlled by sphincter muscles. Feces are expelled from the body through the anus during the act of defecation.

Board Certified: The American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS), a not-for-profit organization comprising 24 medical specialty boards, is the pre-eminent entity overseeing physician certification in the United States. For more than 70 years, ABMS’ mission has been to maintain and improve the quality of medical care by assisting its Member Boards in developing and implementing educational and professional standards to evaluate and certify physician specialists. ABMS is recognized by the key health care accreditation organizations as a primary equivalent source of board certification data on medical specialists for credentialing purposes.

Bowel Incontinence: the inability to control one's bowels. Frequently seen in women that have given birth to many children.
When one feels the urge to have a bowel movement, they may not be able to hold it until they can get to a toilet, or stool may leak from the rectum unexpectedly. People who have fecal incontinence may feel ashamed, embarrassed, or humiliated. Some don't want to leave the house out of fear they might have an accident in public. Most try to hide the problem as long as possible, so they withdraw from friends and family. The social isolation may be reduced because treatment can improve bowel control and make incontinence easier to manage.
In short, when the urge to purge makes you need to speed, you may experience loss of sphincter control.
Incontinence can often be treated quite effectively with exercises, biofeedback and sphincter surgery.

Colon: in addition being a punctuation mark, it is the large intestine between the cecum and the rectum; it extracts moisture from food residues before they are excreted.

Colostomy: a surgical procedure that involves connecting a part of the colon onto the abdominal wall, leaving the patient with an opening on the abdomen called a stoma. This opening is formed from the end of the large intestine drawn out through the incision and sutured to the skin. After a colostomy, feces leave the patient's body through the stoma, and collect in a bag attached to the patient's abdomen which is changed when necessary. Colostomies are viewed negatively due to the misconception that it is difficult to hide the smell of feces and the bag and even keeping it securely attached. However, modern colostomy bags are well-designed and allow stoma patients to continue normal activities.

Condyloma: a very contagious sexually transmitted disease. Caused by some variants of the Human papillomavirus, typically HPV 6 and HPV 11, it is spread during oral, genital, or anal sex with an infected partner. About two-thirds of people who have a single sexual contact with a partner with genital warts will develop warts, usually within three months of contact. In women the warts occur on the outside and inside of the vagina, on the opening (cervix) to the womb (uterus), or around the anus. While genital warts are approximately as prevalent in men, the symptoms of the disease may be less obvious. When present, they usually are seen on the tip of the penis. They also may be found on the shaft of the penis, on the scrotum, or around the anus. Rarely, genital warts also can develop in the mouth or throat of a person who has had oral sex with an infected person. Certain strains of warts if untreated may progress to a form of skin cancer.

Constipation: a condition of the digestive system where a person experiences hard feces that is difficult to eliminate; it may be extremely painful, and in extreme cases (fecal impaction) lead to symptoms of bowel obstruction. Causes may be dietary, hormonal and anatomical. Treatment is with a change in dietary habits, laxatives, fiber therapy, enemas, and rarely surgery.

Crohn’s Disease: no, not necessarily a condition affecting cosmetically challenged elderly women. Crohn's disease is a chronic inflammatory disease of the digestive tract and it can involve any part of it, from the mouth to the anus. It typically affects the area where the small intestine joins the colon, as well as segments of large bowel, with other areas of the bowel being relatively unaffected. It is often associated with auto-immune disorders outside the bowel, such as aphthous stomatitis (mouth ulcers) and rheumatoid arthritis.