What Do the Intestines Do?

In the large and small intestine food is broken down and then passed into the bloodstream to provide the body with energy to function and grow.

What are the intestines for?
The intestines, which lie between the stomach and the rectum, are part of the digestive system.

Digestion consists of complex interactions involving numerous organs, nerves, hormones, and other chemical messengers.

The small intestine and large intestine (colon) each have distinct but overlapping roles in digestion. Both break down food with enzymes and pass it into the bloodstream for circulation throughout the body. In this way, the food is converted into nutrient forms capable of providing the organs with energy to function and to grow.

How does the food get inside from the intestines instead of just passing right through the digestive tract along with the feces?
The junctions between the cells lining the intestines are tight. Thus, in order to travel to the other side of the wall of the intestine, food must be transported right through the thin layer of cells, to capillaries on the other side.

The membranes of these specialized cells dispersed along the intestine contain pore channels (some regulated, some not) to carry the nutrients across. The food must first be chopped up into tiny molecules. Aided by bile (made in the liver and stored in the gallbladder), this degradation is accomplished by pancreatic enzymes.

What does the small intestine do?

Roles of the small intestine are:
=Digestion and Absorption of Fats
=Continued Digestion (the process begins in the stomach), and Absorption of, Proteins
=Further Digestion, and Absorption of, Carbohydrates
=Absorption of Vitamins and Minerals in Specialized Regions, for example:
-Iron in the duodenum (uppermost region)
-Absorption of Water
=Absorption of Electrolytes, including:
-Sodium
-Chloride
-Potassium
=Movement of the Food Along the Gut Via Muscular Contraction ("Peristalsis")
=Regulation of Other Components of the Digestive System:
*Stimulation of the Pancreas, via:
-Cholecystekinin (CCK)-Enzyme Production
-Secretin-Bicarbonate Release
*Stimulation of the Gallbladder, via:
-Cholecystekinin (CCK)-Bile Release
*Stimulation of the Liver, via:
-Secretin-Bile Production
*Coordination with the Stomach (complex two-way interaction), for instance:
-In response to eating, the hormone gastrin produced in the stomach simultaneously triggers:
Peristaltic activity in the small intestine (to prime it for entry of food), as well as The stomach's production of hydrochloric acid (to help break down food) and pepsinogen (to aid in digesting protein)
=When the meal is over another hormone, called somatostatin, is produced by the intestine to counteract gastrin.

What does the large intestine do?
Roles of the large intestine are:
=Further Absorption of Water to Compact Feces
=Further Absorption of Electrolytes/Resabsorption of Salts to Conserve Them
=Storage of Feces (rectum)
=Absorption of Vitamins, such as:
-Vitamin B-12
-Vitamin K (produced by beneficial bacteria which colonize the intestines)


Source American Gastroenterological Association
Also See: Gastrointestinal Health

Not all the information, found in this article and at links related to this article, is necessarily the opinion of the owner of this blog- Herbsplus4health (Karen Doolan). However, I thought much of the information was very informative and felt it would be nice to share what I found with my readers.