Introduction

The gastrointestinal tract includes essentially every anatomical structure from mouth to anus. A lower GI bleed will often present as bright red blood per rectum but can also present as maroon-colored stools, or even malena if they occur more proximally at the right colon or above. There are many causes of lower GI bleeds: diverticular bleeding, ischemic colitis, hemorrhoids, colorectal cancer, bleeding polyps and adenomas,. inflammatory bowel disease, infectious diarrhea, ulcer bleeding, post-polypactomy bleeding, and Colorectal varices.