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Center for Digestive Diseases The Gastrointestinal Tract is a long muscular tube that extends from the mouth to the esophagus, to the stomach, to the small intestine (the duodenum, the jejunum, and the ileum) to the large intestine (the ascending, transverse and descending colon), to the rectum and ends at the anus.
Image courtesy of Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. 1. The esophagus is about 10 inches long and moves food from the mouth to the stomach. 2. The abdomen contains all of the digestive organs, and includes the area just below the diaphragm behind the lower ribs to the pelvis. 3. The stomach sits at the top of the abdomen and normally holds just over 3 pints (about 1500 ml) of food from a single meal. Food and drink is mixed with an acid produced by special cells in the stomach wall to assist in digestion and break down of complex proteins, fats and carbohydrates into small, more absorbable units. 4. The Lower Esophageal Sphincter is a muscular ring at the entrance to the stomach from the esophagus that allows food to enter while keeping the acid-laden food from backing up or ‘refluxing’ back into the esophagus, causing damage and pain. 5. The pylorus is a small round muscle located between the outlet of the lower stomach and the entrance to the duodenum (the first section of the small intestine). It remains closed while food is being digested into smaller units for better absorption and opens to allow the stomach content to pass as small squirts into the duodenum. 6. The small intestine is about 15 to 20 feet long (4.5 to 6 meters) and is where the majority of the absorption of the nutrients from food takes place. The small intestine is made up of three sections: the duodenum, the jejunum and the ileum. 7. The duodenum is the first section of the small intestine and is where the food is mixed with bile produced by the liver and with other juices from the pancreas. This is where much of the iron and calcium is absorbed. 8. The jejunum is the middle part of the small intestine extending from the duodenum to the ileum; it is responsible for digestion. 9. The ileum is the last segment of the intestine, and is where the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K and other nutrients are absorbed. 10. The ileocecal valve separates the small and large intestines to keep the highly bacterial environment of the colon separated from the small intestine. Bacteria are essential in many elements of digestion and are a natural finding in the colon. 11. The colon, or large intestine is where excess fluids are absorbed and a firm stool is formed. The colon may absorb protein, when necessary. Stool passes into the rectum and is excreted as feces through the anus, another muscular ring. Please contact the Center for Digestive Diseases for more information or to schedule an appointment. |
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