diarrhea vs the shits

diarrhea and the shits both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
diarrhea	Yes	No	No	No
the shits	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, the shits is a hyponym of diarrhea; that is, the shits is a word with a more specific, narrower meaning than diarrhea:

diarrhea: frequent and watery bowel movements; can be a symptom of infection or food poisoning or colitis or a gastrointestinal tumor
the shits: obscene terms for diarrhea

Other hyponyms of diarrhea include the trots, Montezuma's revenge.

diarrhea (noun)	the shits (noun)
frequent and watery bowel movements; can be a symptom of infection or food poisoning or colitis or a gastrointestinal tumor	obscene terms for diarrhea