RT Book, Section A1 Santoro, Giulio Aniello A1 Sultan, Abdul H. A2 Rogers, Rebecca G. A2 Sung, Vivian W. A2 Iglesia, Cheryl B. A2 Thakar, Ranee SR Print(0) ID 1105832614 T1 Anal Incontinence T2 Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery: Clinical Practice and Surgical Atlas YR 2014 FD 2014 PB McGraw-Hill Education PP New York, NY SN 978-0-07-175641-9 LK obgyn.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1105832614 RD 2024/10/08 AB Anal incontinence (AI) is defined as the involuntary loss of flatus, liquid, or stool that is a social and hygienic problem.1 It remains a complex and poorly understood condition with a multifactorial etiology. Several mechanisms, either alone or in combination, produce symptoms of AI: (a) consistency and amount of stool (eg, diarrhea), (b) damage to the mucosa of the colon and rectum (eg, colitis), (c) neurologic factors (eg, diabetes, Parkinson disease), (d) miscellaneous (eg, congenital disorders, rectocele, etc), and (e) injuries to the anal sphincter and pelvic floor muscles.