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The gastrointestinal tract (GI tract, digestive tract, alimentary canal) is the tract or passageway of the digestive system that leads from the mouth to the anus.The GI tract contains all the major organs of the digestive system, in humans and other animals, including the esophagus, stomach, and intestines.
The colon of the large intestine is the last part of the digestive system. It has a segmented appearance due to a series of saccules called haustra. [9] It extracts water and salt from solid wastes before they are eliminated from the body and is the site in which the fermentation of unabsorbed material by the gut microbiota occurs.
Within its mucosa are millions of embedded gastric glands. Their secretions are vital to the functioning of the organ. Most of the digestion of food takes place in the small intestine which is the longest part of the GI tract. The largest part of the GI tract is the colon or large intestine.
In the colon, for example, the muscular layer is much thicker because the faeces are large and heavy and require more force to push along. The outer longitudinal layer of the colon thins out into 3 discontinuous longitudinal bands, known as taeniae coli (bands of the colon). This is one of the 3 features helping to distinguish between the large ...
The small intestine supports the body's immune system. [20] The presence of gut flora appears to contribute positively to the host's immune system. Peyer's patches, located within the ileum of the small intestine, are an important part of the digestive tract's local immune system. They are part of the lymphatic system, and provide a site for ...
Quadrants of the abdomen Diagram showing which organs (or parts of organs) are in each quadrant of the abdomen. The left lower quadrant (LLQ) of the human abdomen is the area left of the midline and below the umbilicus. The LLQ includes the left iliac fossa and half of the left flank region. The equivalent term for animals is left posterior ...
The large intestine, also known as the large bowel, is the last part of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and of the digestive system. The liver lies in the right hypochondrium area and the greater portion of the epigastric areas of the abdominal cavity under the diaphragm but within the rib cage. [6]
The cecum is an end point for the colon with a dead-end portion terminating with the appendix. [ 8 ] The connection between the end of the small intestine (ileum) and the start (as viewed from the perspective of food being processed) of the colon (cecum) is now clearly understood, and is called the ileocecal orifice.