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1. Gullet 2. Liver
3. Stomach 4. Gallbladder
5. Small Intestine
6. Large Intestine
7. Rectum
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Inside the body, the intestines wind their way around the organs in the abdomen. These are the Duodenum, the Small intestine, the Large intestine and the Rectum. Altogether, the intestines measure almost nine metres long.
Intestines resemble tunnels and food must pass through so that the body can absorb the nourishment in it. When the food has reached journey's end in your intestines, all that is left is a mass that leaves your body in the form of faeces.
Digestion
Is the processing of food itself. It begins in the stomach and continues during the food's trip through the intestines. Immediately after the stomach is the Duodenum.
This is where the food is mixed with bile from the gall bladder and the liver, as well as with pancreatic juice from the pancreas. The bile and the pancreatic juice digest the food and make it easier for the body to absorb the nourishment. The intestines squeeze and knead the food so that all the nourishment is pressed out.
Absorption
On the walls of the small intestine are intestinal villi, thin blood vessels that absorb most of the nourishment in food, the blood transports this nourishment to the rest of the body.
When the food has been squeezed through the small intestine it resembles batter. When this batter finally reaches the large intestine, there is little nourishment left in it. The large intestine is two metres long and its purpose is to absorb as much liquid as possible.
When this task has been accomplished, the batter has become firmer and turned into faeces.
The Final Step
The last stop on the way through the intestines is the rectum. This is where the food is squeezed that last step, before it leaves the body completely and is flushed away in the toilet.
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