A laboratory test to isolate and identify organisms in the feces that may cause gastrointestinal symptoms and overt disease.
Some bacteria cause symptoms because of the toxins they produce.
You can catch the stool on plastic wrap that is loosely placed over the toilet bowl and held in place by the toilet seat. Then put the sample in a clean container. One test kit supplies a special toilet tissue that you use to collect the sample, then put the sample in a clean container. If the plastic wrap is positioned properly, isolating the stool from any urine output, mixing of urine and stool can be prevented for a better sample. A sample of the specimen is placed in culture media to encourage the growth of microorganisms.