Bleeding per-ano has long been conceived as orginating in either hemorrhoids or cancer. However, it is shown that bleeding per-ano may accompany about a hundred ailments, disturbances of function or pathological entities. Consideration of this subject practically constitutes a review of the whole of proctology and might appear to be confusing at first but an intelligently taken history plus anoscopic, sigmoidoscopic and digital examinations will usually reveal the correct diagnosis. Such a routine is discussed.