Editing Fecal incontinence (section)

=== Reduced rectal storage capacity ===
The [[rectum]] needs to be of a sufficient volume to store stool until defecation. The rectal walls need to be "compliant" i.e. able to distend to an extent to accommodate stool.<ref name="hoffmann 1995">{{cite journal | vauthors = Hoffmann BA, Timmcke AE, Gathright JB, Hicks TC, Opelka FG, Beck DE | title = Fecal seepage and soiling: a problem of rectal sensation | journal = Diseases of the Colon and Rectum | volume = 38 | issue = 7 | pages = 746–748 | date = July 1995 | pmid = 7607037 | doi = 10.1007/bf02048034 | s2cid = 38351811 }}</ref> Rectal storage capacity (i.e. rectal volume + rectal compliance) may be affected in the following ways. Surgery involving the rectum (e.g. [[lower anterior resection]], often performed for colorectal cancer), radiotherapy directed at the rectum, and inflammatory bowel disease can cause scarring, which may result in the walls of the rectum becoming stiff and inelastic, reducing compliance. Reduced rectal storage capacity may lead to urge incontinence,<ref name="Desprez2021" /> where there is an urgent need to defecate as soon as stool enters the rectum, where normally stool would be stored until there was enough to distend the rectal walls and initiate the defecation cycle. Tumors and [[rectal stricture]]s also may impair reservoir function.