Digestive
10-12
The Digestive Tract

     The small intestine is the primary organ of the of the digestive tract.  In the small intestine, chyme is finally mixed for its passage to cells.  The small intestine may be subdivided into three segments.  A sphincter is located at the top of the small intestine.  The first segment of the small intestine is known as the deudodenum.  The deudodenum is about 25 cm ( 10 inches ).  The second segment of the small intestine is known as the jejunum.  The jejunum is about 2.5 meters long, ( 8 feet).  The final segment of the small intestine is known as the ileum.  The ileum is about 3.6m (12 feet ).  Most of food digestion through acids and bases occurs in the small intestine.  Since the small intestine can only process a small amount of chyme, the spchinter located outside of the small intestine regulates the amount of food that passes through the small intestine.  Bile helps digest the chyme furthermore.  Bile, an enzyme that helps digest food, is manufactured in the liver.

     In addition to digesting chyme, the small intestine is responsible for absorbing the processed food into the bloodstream, so that energy can be deriven from the food.  This absorption takes place through anatomical structures known as villi.  Villi are structures ,that act as valves, that allow solids liquids and/or acids to pass through one structure to another.  Through these Villi, all the useful nutrients that are located in chyme pass through the small intestine into the bloodstream.  The undigested chyme, or not useful nutrients then pass to the large intestine.

     The large intestine is about 1.5 meters ( 5 feet ).  The large intestine stretches from a valve that rests between the bottom of the small intestine and the top of the large intestine, to the anus.  The main job of the small intestine is to digest any undigested chyme, and to rid the body of any unneeded wastes by sending it to the anus.  The large intestine has many subdivisions such as the cecum, the appendix, the colon, the rectum, and the canal.
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