The Bristol Stool Scale is a way to talk about shapes and types of poop, what doctors call stools. It’s also known as the Meyers Scale. Here’s a great representation of a Bristol Stool Scale.

Healthy poop can be as varied and as unique as the individuals who make it. But there are a few general rules to follow if you want to assess your poo artistry for optimum health.

Color – The poop emoji has one thing right: the brown coloring. The combination of stomach bile and bilirubin, which is a pigment compound formed from the breakdown of red blood cells in the body, gets the credit for this oh-so-lovely shade of brown.

Shape – A somewhat log-like shape is how most poop should come out due to its formation within the intestines. However, as we’ll get to later, there are a variety of shapes that poop can have.

Size – Poops shouldn’t come out in small pellets — something else we’ll get to later — but instead should be a couple of inches in length, and comfortable and easy to pass.