Secretes fluid from the body into the gut. Excretes waste material as stool. Diarrhoea means there are frequent, loose or liquid stools. Acute diarrhoea - comes on suddenly and lasts a short time. Chronic diarrhoea - affects someone over a long period of time.
Some people pass frequent, small solid stools with a sense of urgency.
This is not true diarrhoea and occurs when the rectum is irritable as in the irritable bowel syndrome or inflamed as in colitis. This is how some laxatives work. The bowel moves its contents through too quickly and too little fluid is passed back into the bloodstream. This is one way in which anxiety produces diarrhoea. More liquid is drunk than the bowel can cope with - this seldom happens, but is one way in which drinking too much beer can cause diarrhoea.