Small Intestine
The small intestine is actually the
longest segment of the
gastrointestinal tract — the long,
continuous pathway that food
travels through your digestive
system. In the small intestine,
food is broken down into liquid
and most of its nutrients are
absorbed. The waste is passed
on to the large intestine.
The small intestine is coiled
inside the lower abdominal cavity
beneath the stomach. The large
intestine surrounds it, framing the
edges of the abdominal cavity. It
looks like a long, pink or red tube
with many folds. It’s about the
width of your pointer finger. It’s
the width that makes it “smaller”
than the
large intestine, not the
[Link] small intestine is by
far the longest section of the
gastrointestinal tract, about 22
feet long.
The tube is lined with many
layers of tissues and muscles.
The tissues contain nerves,
blood vessels, immune cells and
lymphatic glands.
The small intestine has a
beginning section, a middle
section and an end
section. Although there is no real
separation between the parts,
they do have slightly different
characteristics and roles to play.
Duodenum
The duodenum is the first part of
the small intestine that the
stomach feeds into. It’s a short,
descending chute (about 10
inches long) that curves around
the pancreas in a “C” shape
before connecting to the rest of
the coiled intestines.
the small intestine receives
digestive juices from other
organs in your digestive system,
including your liver, gallbladder
and pancreas and Ducts from
these organs feed into the
duodenum. Hormone glands in
the lining of the duodenum signal
these
organs to release their chemicals
when food is present.
Jejunum
The jejunum is characterized by
many blood vessels, which give it
a deep red color.
After chemical digestion in the
duodenum, food moves into the
jejunum, where the muscle work
of digestion picks up. Nerves in
the intestinal walls trigger its
muscles to churn food back and
forth (segmentation), mixing it
with digestive juices
Ileum
The ileum is the last and longest
section of the small intestine.
Here the walls of the small
intestine begin to thin and
narrow, and blood supply is
reduced. Food spends the most
time in the ileum, where the most
water and nutrients are
absorbed.
In the ileum, segmentation slows
down and peristalsis takes over,
moving food waste gradually
toward the large intestine. The
ileocecal valve separates the
ileum from the large intestine.
Nerves and hormones signal the
valve to open to let food pass
through and close to keep
bacteria out. Special immune
cells line the ileum to protect
against bacteria.
Mucosa
The walls of the small intestine
are lined with a
dense mucosa with many glands
that both secrete and absorb. In
the jejunum and the ileum, the
mucosa secretes small amounts
of digestive
enzymes and lubricating mucus
while absorbing nutrients from
your food. Each section is
designed to absorb different
nutrients, as well as water.