1. Diarrhea was defined by the author as evacuation of fluid stool to avoid the confusing use of the vast concept.
2. Among 90 autopsy cases exclusive of primary intestinal diseases, caecal content demonstrated in 72 cases approximately the consistency of soft stool, in 10 cases that of rice gruel and only exceptionally in 8 cases that of fluid.
3. Average daily water absorption in colon of Japanese adults was roughly estimated to be 100 ml, calculated from average daily stool amount (150g), its water content (75%) and average water content of caecal stool (85%)
4. From these data, it was concluded that disturbance of large intestine alone does not cause diarrhea, but disorder of small intestine is prerequisite to it.
5. Eight out of the 90 autopsy cases, which all died from other than intestinal diseases, contained in colon no usual stool, but only fluid content. And all these 8 cases except 1 demonstrated clear-cut histologic changes of small intestine.
6. Diarrhea, a nomen actionis derived from δια(through)-ρεω(flow) has hitherto been regarded as a morphologically unapproachable action. However, the colonial state of containing no usual stool but only fluid content is nothing but the phenomenon, diarrhea.
7. Morphological approach to diarrhea in autopsy was first made possible by this new interpretation.
8. It was thus presumed by the author that biopsy methods might discover organic injuries of small intestine even in common diarrhea as is encountered in daily life.
9. Histologic investigation of small intestine from autopsy cases is perfectly practicable if due caution is paid, as is demonstrated in the histologic pictures of this report all taken from autopsy cases.
(picture 1, 2, 4, 8: Normal. Picture 9, 10, 11, 12: Cases with fluid content in colon.)
(picture 3, 5, 6, 7: Salmonella Enteritis.)

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Isoation test of Shigella, pathogenic E. coli, Salmonera, Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Endameba histolytica were carried out with 555 sporadic cases suspective dysentery during the year 1964. The results were as follows:
Dysentery bacillus was isolated from 266 cases, V. parahaemolyticus from 63 cases, pathogenic E coli from 32 cases, Salmonella from 9 cases and E. histolytica from 1 case. The isolation rate in summer, (from June to September) which remarkably decreased as comared with that in autumb and winter, was 45.1 %(46 cases) in the 0-14 age group (102 cases) and 21.2 %(35 cases) in the group over 15 years of age. In the former group, the isolation rate of pathogenic E coli increased (13 cases: 12.7 %) and in the latter, that of V. parahaemolyticus elevated (59 cases: 35.8 %)
Sh. sonnei (96 cases) and Sh. flexneri 2a (69 cases) were predominant in shigella, O124: K72 (10 cases) and O136-K89 (4 cases) in pathogenic E coli. As for Salmonella, 6 types, i.e. S. typhi murium (2 cases), S. give (3 cases), S. heidelberg (1 case), S. potsdam (1 case) S. enteritidis (1 case) and S. anatum (1 case) were isolated.

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