Intestinal Transplant / GI Tract

The gastrointestinal (GI) tract is the tube from the mouth to the rectum. The GI tract includes the esophagus, stomach, duodenum, liver, pancreas, small intestine (also known as jejunum and ileum), large intestine (also known as the colon) and rectum.

When we chew and swallow food, it travels from the mouth to the stomach by moving through the esophagus. Once the food is in the stomach, the food is partially digested by the stomach acids and the movement in the stomach. The stomach empties the partially digested food into the duodenum. In the duodenum, the food is mixed with other digestive juices from the pancreas and liver. The liver provides the digestive juice, bile and the pancreas provides digestive pancreatic enzymes. Together, these digestive juices complete the breakdown of the foods we eat.

From the duodenum, the digested food moves into the small intestine for more digestion and absorption. The major role of the small intestine is to absorb nutrients from the food. Once the nutrients are absorbed, the remaining liquid is passed into the large intestine. The major role of the large intestine is to remove the extra water and to form stool. The large intestine moves the stool to the rectum where it is eliminated.

The gastrointestinal tract is a very long muscular tube. It works together with the other organs to complete the digestive process. The small intestine is a very long, coiled tube. It is measured to be approximately 10-12 feet in children and 20-25 feet in adults. The large intestine is also a long tube which measures approximately 3 feet in children and 6-9 feet in adults.