Gastro-intestinal tract
The Gastro-intestinal tract is a sequence of digestive organs.[1] In mammals the organs are mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, colon and anus.
- The mouth breaks food up into pieces small enough to be swallowed;[1]
- The esophagus connects the mouth to the stomach, and is important for swallowing the pieces of food broken up in the mouth;[1]
- The stomach's muscles mash up the pieces of food, and releases acids to break the food up into a mush, which it stores to slowly release into the small intestine;[1]
- The small intestine (duodenum) is a long tube, within an inner surface of microscopic projections, that does the main work of digestion -- absorbing the nutrients from food;[1]
- The large intestine (colon) is a tube which squeezes water from the residue of food, after it has been stripped of nutrients, so it can be expelled;[1]
- The anus is a muscular organ that keeps the gastro-intestinal organ closed, until the animal is ready for a bowel movement.[1]
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6
Phil Owen (2019-03-01). "Upper vs. Lower GI Tract: What Are They?". Austin Gastroenterology. Archived from the original on 2026-05-20. Retrieved 2026-08-03.
The path food takes in the body, in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, starts with the mouth and ends with the anus (rectum). The GI tract is divided into two main sections: the upper GI tract and the lower GI tract. The upper GI tract is generally considered to be the mouth, esophagus, stomach, and finally the first part of the small intestine (duodenum). The lower GI tract runs from the small intestine to the large intestine (colon) to the anus.