You Wouldn’t Believe How Big Your Small Intestine Is
January 26, 2012 at 6:37 PM Leave a comment
It’s break time and here’s a fun fact that blew my mind:
The small intestine is made up of three segments, which form a passage from your stomach (the opening between your stomach and small intestine is called the pylorus) to your large intestine:
- Duodenum: This short section is the part of the small intestine that takes in semi-digested food from your stomach through the pylorus, and continues the digestion process. The duodenum also uses bile from your gallbladder, liver, and pancreas to help digest food.
- Jejunum: The middle section of the small intestine carries food through rapidly, with wave-like muscle contractions, towards the ileum.
- Ileum: This last section is the longest part of your small intestine. The ileum is where most of the nutrients from your food are absorbed before emptying into the large intestine.
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How can the small intestine digest so much? Looking at the small intestine as a pipe, it seems hard to believe that an organ so narrow could do such a big job. However, looks can be deceiving. The absorptive surface area of the small intestine is actually about 250 square meters (almost 2,700 square feet) – the size of a tennis court!
That’s unimaginable. But hey, who am I to question the people at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center?
Wow. Just wow.
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