A Discussion about the Intestine Structure

An intestine is a segment of anatomy which starts from the stomach (pyloric sphincter) and stretches till the anus. In terms of formation, it is the segment of the alimentary canal in humans and other mammals. When someone mentions the term intestine, then he or she is talking about both the types of intestine segments, viz the small intestine and the large intestine. In terms of size, both the large and small intestines can vary with respect to age.

Not only the intestine is one of the most important aspects of the functioning of a human body, but functioning of many other parts of a body are dependent on the intestine. Taking about the human anatomy, the large intestine is made up of cecum and the colon, while the small intestine gets divided into jejunum, duodenum and ileum.

The large intestine starts just below the right side of our waists and then via the abdomen gets stretched till the end point of the anus. The large intestine is responsible for absorbing water and electrolytes from the indigestible food matter which is remaining. It then passes the useless waste material (from the body).

The large intestine is also responsible to compact feces and even storing of this fecal matter inside the rectum, till the point of time of discharge via defecation through the anus. In addition, the colon absorbs vitamins that get formed by the colonic type of bacteria. According to medical aspects, the large intestine is almost 4.9 feet long (approximately).

The small intestine is actually bigger (almost 20 feet) than the large intestine. Most parts of the digestion along with the absorption of vitamins, fluids and mainly digestive products occur in this small intestine.

Finally, as with all parts of the body, there are many diseases and disorders which affect the intestine. Some common diseases are listed below:

Inflammation of intestines is known as gastroenteritis, which is the most common of the disorders in terms of intestine. Inflammation of the large intestine is known as colitis.
The blockage of intestines is called as ileus.
Irritable bowel syndrome, abbreviated as IBS is a functional disorder related to constipation and chronic abdominal pain.
Diverticular disease - pouches get formed on the intestinal wall.
Lastly, there are disorders like colorectal cancer, diarrhea, bowel twist condition and intussusception related to the intestine.