Duodenum

• Anatomically, it is is sub-divided into four segments: the superior,

descending, horizontal and ascending duodenum.
• The duodenum continues the process of food breakdown.
• Inside the duodenal tube, chyme is mixed with fluids from the
gallbladder (bile) and pancreas (pancreatic juice). Bile breaks down fat
particles into smaller droplets, while pancreatic juice contains enzymes
that convert fats into fatty acids and glycerol, plus sodium bicarbonate
to neutralize stomach acid.

Jejunum

• Roughly 4-7 feet in length, the jejunum is where chemical

breakdown of the food chyme is completed.
• Pancreatic enzymes, along with enzymes produced by the jejunum
wall, finalize the food digestion process.

Ileum

• The main function of the ileum is to absorb nutrients

• the ileum is the final section of the small intestine, linked to the
large intestine by the ileocecal valve.

Maintaining the Small Intestines pH level

• the pH of the small intestine is maintained mainly by bicarbonate

ion that is secreted by the pancreas.
• Duodenum pH5 to 6

Where do enzymes and bile enter the Small intestine?

• Through the pancreatic duct

• The hormone secretin also causes bicarbonate to be released into the small
intestine from the pancreas in order to neutralize the potentially harmful acid
coming from the stomach.
How does food move through the small intestine?
• Food from the stomach is allowed into the duodenum by a muscle called the
pylorus, or pyloric sphincter, and is then pushed through the small intestine by a
process of muscular-wavelike contractions called peristalsis.
What are the enzymes inside the small intestine?
• secretin: this is an endocrine hormone produced by the duodenal "S
cells" in response to the acidity of the gastric chime.
• Cholecystokinin: it is responsible for the secretion of acinar cells that help in
the production of pancreatic juices
• Gastric inhibitory peptide: This peptide decreases gastric motility and
 is produced by duodenal mucosal cells.
• motilin: increases gastro-intestinal motility by using specialized receptors
called “motilin receptors”
• somatostatin: to inhibit a variety of secretory mechanisms
• Maltase: it’s an enzyme that breaks down disaccharide maltose\

Large intestine

• Its function is to absorb water from the remaining indigestible food

matter, and then to pass useless waste material from the body.

Areas of the large intestine

Ceacum

• Breakdown of plant matter such a cellulose, mammals with a diet

relying on plants have a large cecum with carnivorous mammals have
a smaller cecum

Colon

• it extracts water and salt from solid wastes before they are
eliminated from the body

Rectum

• The rectum is the final straight portion of the large intestine in

some mammals, and the gut in others, terminating in the anus.

How does the large intestine help maintain water balance in the body?

• He absorbs water and excretes it and in doing so absorbs vitamins

in said water before the waste has been eliminated