Diagnosis begins with a patient's history of the problem, but it must be confirmed by physical examination. Sometimes a fissure may be immediately visible. In other cases, a doctor might need an anoscope to view the anal canal.
To rule out other disorders, doctors might also use:
If the fissure is especially painful, the patient might be given general anesthesia for the examination.
The fissure's location can give doctors clues to whether the fissure might be a symptom of another disorder. A fissure that occurs at the side of the anal opening, rather than the back or front, is more likely to be a sign of another disorder, such as inflammatory bowel disease.