Can your stool contain partial melena? this am, stool was primarily light brown, but few pieces were very, very dark brown. what distinguishes melena?

Define melena: Melena, by definition, is passage of dark stools stained with denatured blood. As we established in prior healthtap answers, all dark stool is not melena. Your doctor, or even an over-the-counter test that you can purchase, can check to see if your dark stool contains blood. Needed is for you to provide a sample of the dark stool. False positive results can occur based on diet & stool additives.

Melendez: Usually melena is soft and/or pasty, and solid black (not dark brown) in color. It addition, it is usually very foul smelling. What you are describing sounds unlikely to be melena, but if you are concerned, it is easy to get tested. Just see your doctor. Good luck.

No: Melina is blood in the stool. It is determined by a test on the stool. Since the stool all goes through the same tube it would be positive through a sample.