Ooh... Ahh... Another kind of movement! There's still peristalsis, but this peristalsis is wimpy compared to
that of the esophagus and stomach. You've encountered segmentation. Peristalsis still occurs in order
to move the chyme down along the intestine, but segmentation mixes the chyme with
digestive juices, preparing it for absorption. Here's where the majority of the chemical digestion and absorption happens.
Carbohydrates are broken down by such enzymes as maltase, sucrase, and lactase. Trypsin, and peptidase are among the enzymes to hit the proteins.
Lipids come apart with the aid of lipases. Once broken down into their most simple of structures, those swaying, finger-like projections
gladly absorb them. "But what are those finger-like things?" you may think to yourself. They are merely villi; they help create more
area for absorption. There are also smaller, similar structures called microvilli. Click on the word "microvilli" above.
You can't handle the stress of all these enzymes anymore. Broken down into your smallest pieces, you now become absorbed. (Click on absorption above.)
