A friend of mine had some problems when "wiping" after going to the toilet, and he told the doctor he had problems with the rectum being sore when he wiped. After a few more questions the doc booked him for a specialist appt. at the hospital, but when he was telling me he has to go in etc, I told him that he would of had soreness on the anus.

Thinking back to high school biology, I thought the anus is what you wipe and the rectum "stores" the faeces to pass through the anus - whereas his opinion is it's the other way around - which is correct?

Thanks.

if you believe dictionary.com, the rectum is the passage which extends from the sigmoid colon to the anal canal. the anus is the actual opening.