Stercoral perforation is the perforation or rupture of the intestine

Intestine

In human anatomy, the intestine is the segment of the alimentary canal extending from the pyloric sphincter of the stomach to the anus and, in humans and other mammals, consists of two segments, the small intestine and the large intestine...

's walls by its internal contents, such as foreign objects, or, more commonly, by hardened feces

Feces

Feces, faeces, or fæces is a waste product from an animal's digestive tract expelled through the anus or cloaca during defecation.-Etymology:...

 (fecaloma

Fecaloma

A fecaloma, also called fecalith, fecolith and coprolith, i.e., a "stone" made of feces, is a hardening of feces into lumps of varying size inside the colon, which may appear whenever chronic obstruction of transit occurs, such as in megacolon and chronic constipation...

s) which may form in long constipation

Constipation

Constipation refers to bowel movements that are infrequent or hard to pass. Constipation is a common cause of painful defecation...

s or other diseases which cause obstruction of transit, such as Chagas disease

Chagas disease

Chagas disease is a tropical parasitic disease caused by the flagellate protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi. T. cruzi is commonly transmitted to humans and other mammals by an insect vector, the blood-sucking insects of the subfamily Triatominae most commonly species belonging to the Triatoma, Rhodnius,...

, Hirschprung's disease, toxic colitis

Colitis

In medicine, colitis refers to an inflammation of the colon and is often used to describe an inflammation of the large intestine .Colitides may be acute and self-limited or chronic, i.e...

 and megacolon

Megacolon

Megacolon is an abnormal dilation of the colon . The dilatation is often accompanied by a paralysis of the peristaltic movements of the bowel...

.

Stercoral perforation is a very dangerous, life-threatening situation, as well as a surgical emergency

Surgical emergency

Surgical emergency is a medical emergency which requires immediate surgical intervention .The following conditions are surgical emergencies:* Acute trauma* Accidental amputation* Acute appendicitis...

, because the spillage of contaminated intestinal contents into the abdominal cavity

Abdomen

In vertebrates such as mammals the abdomen constitutes the part of the body between the thorax and pelvis. The region enclosed by the abdomen is termed the abdominal cavity...

 leads to peritonitis

Peritonitis

Peritonitis is an inflammation of the peritoneum, the serous membrane that lines part of the abdominal cavity and viscera. Peritonitis may be localised or generalised, and may result from infection or from a non-infectious process.-Abdominal pain and tenderness:The main manifestations of...

, a rapid bacteremia

Bacteremia

Bacteremia is the presence of bacteria in the blood. The blood is normally a sterile environment, so the detection of bacteria in the blood is always abnormal....

 (bacterial infection of the blood

Blood

Blood is a specialized bodily fluid in animals that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells....

), with many complications

Complication (medicine)

Complication, in medicine, is an unfavorable evolution of a disease, a health condition or a medical treatment. The disease can become worse in its severity or show a higher number of signs, symptoms or new pathological changes, become widespread throughout the body or affect other organ systems. A...

.