Mark Gurarie is a writer covering health topics, technology, music, books, and culture. He also teaches health science and research writing at George Washington University's School of Medical and ...

Editor’s note: This is an automatically generated transcript, which has been slightly edited for clarity. Please notify [email protected] if there are concerns regarding accuracy of the transcription.

A digital rectal exam, which may be painful, may be needed if a definitive diagnosis of anal fissures cannot be made based on a patient’s history. 1 Anoscopy, which also may be painful, can be used to ...