do comatose patients defecate? i know they get the saline drip and such, but do they get anything they can't expel in their urine?
Yes, they do. If the comatose state is recent, they would probably be on just IV fluids. If they have been comatose for a longer period, they may be on IV nutrition. Of course, comatose patients have no control over their bowels or bladder, so they would have a bladder catheter for the urine and essentially nothing but a bed pad under them. Because the IV nutrition is liquid, of course, since they can't take anything by mouth in a comatose state, their stools are usually runny. Even the comatose need to maintain healthy nutrition. It's gotta go somewhere. Also, the dead defecate, too, for a short time following the shutdown of the body.