What diseases require rectal examination?

I had stomach pain last week.The doctor will check my rectum .What other diseases require a rectal examination?

In the past, the confirmation of a diagnostic of appendicitis was through a digital rectal exam. Nowadays medical imagery is normally used instead.

Various prostate-related diseases require rectal examinations, and some gynecological checks may be done rectally.

I’m inclined to think that bloodwork has replaced a lot of the digital rectal exams, at least in modern countries.

I went in last fall complaining about it burning when I urinated. After my urinalysis came back negative. The nurse practitioner I was seeing thought it would be a good idea to check my urethra for any signs of irritation. After checking that she looked at me and explained that I should probably get used to the idea of some issues with my prostate now that I am getting a little older. Then she told me that she should probably check my prostate anyway even though the lab results came back negative just to make sure and to go ahead and bend over the exam table.

So I am guessing that a lot of this depends on the doctor themselves if you go in with obvious symptoms even if the lab results come back negative they are going to want to examine you further, possibly by giving you a rectal exam to check out the causes.This year for my annual physical my doctor did do a PSA test and it came back well within the normal range for my age and he still did a DRE. I think it depends on the doctor and what they believe in.

@JJM Indeed, the urologist told me that since PSA blood tests and ultrasound were normal I did not need a rectal exam.