Gastrointestinal tract
hideThe digestive tract is the system of organs within multicellular animals that takes in food, digests it to extract energy and nutrients, and expels the remaining matter. The major function of the gastrointestinal tract are ingestion, digestion, absorption, and defecation. The GI tract differs substantially from animal to animal. Some animals have multi-chambered stomachs, while some animals' stomachs contain a single box. In a human adult male, the GI tract is approximately 6.5 meters (20 feet) long and consists of the upper and lower GI tracts. The tract may also be divided into foregut, midgut, and hindgut, reflecting the embryological origin of each segment of the tract.
The remainder of this article focuses on human gastrointestinal anatomy; see digestion for the process in other organisms.
For more information about Gastrointestinal tract, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with gut
Sweet as can be: How E. coli gets ahead
Nov 12, 2009 |
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Scientists at the University of York have discovered how certain bacteria such as Escherichia coli have evolved to capture rare sugars from their environment giving them an evolutionary advantage in naturally competitive enviro ...
Nano bubble gum for enhancing drug delivery in gut
Nov 09, 2009 |
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Of the many characteristic traits a drug can have, one of the most desirable is the ability for a drug to be swallowed and absorbed into the bloodstream through the gut. Some drugs, like over-the-counter aspirin, lend themselves ...
New scientific study indicates that eating quickly is associated with overeating
Nov 04, 2009 |
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According to a new study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM), eating a meal quickly, as compared to slowly, curtails the release of hormones in the gu ...
Fibre may keep asthma, diabetes at bay, study finds
Oct 28, 2009 |
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Insoluble dietary fibre, or roughage, not only keeps you regular, say Australian scientists, it also plays a vital role in the immune system, keeping certain diseases at bay.
Gastroenterologists explore relationship between bacteria in the gut and breast cancer
Oct 28, 2009 |
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The human body contains billions of microorganisms, and microbial cells found in the human gut are estimated to outnumber human cells by ten-to-one in healthy adults. However, little is known about the ways in which these ...
Gut worms may protect against house-dust mite allergy
Sep 28, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A study conducted in Vietnam has added further weight to the view that parasitic gut worms, such as hookworm, could help in the prevention and treatment of asthma and other allergies.
GPs' gut feelings defined
Sep 17, 2009 |
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'Gut feelings' experienced by GPs play a substantial role in their diagnostic reasoning process, but always in combination with analytical reasoning. Gut feelings can be separated into the sense of alarm and the sense of ...
Gut ecology in transplant patients
Sep 15, 2009 |
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Small-bowel transplant patients with an ileostomy -- an opening into their small bowel -- have a very different population of bacteria living in their gut than patients whose ileostomy has been closed, researchers from UC ...
Conflict between plant and animal hormones in the insect gut?
Sep 14, 2009 |
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Cis-OPDA (12-oxophytodienoic acid) is a highly reactive plant hormone which simultaneously serves as a precursor molecule of the metabolic "master switch" jasmonic acid. Both signal herbivory in leaves and ...
Trust your gut? Study explores religion, morality and trust in authority
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Sep 14, 2009 |
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In a world filled with dogma, doctrine and discipline, it is accurate to say most of us strive to do what we believe is "right." These convictions and beliefs permeate every aspect of our lives, including education, ethics ...
Designing probiotics that ambush gut pathogens
Sep 08, 2009 |
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Researchers in Australia are developing diversionary tactics to fool disease-causing bacteria in the gut. Many bacteria, including those responsible for major gut infections, such as cholera, produce toxins that damage human ...
Antimicrobial antibodies in celiac disease: Trick or treat?
Aug 26, 2009 |
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Anti-microbial antibody formation has been reported in celiac disease. Relatively high positivity rates were observed for the conventional antibodies, for example, ASCA, anti-OmpW, and anti-I2, and they were known to decrease ...
Friendly gut bacteria lend a hand to fight infection, study suggests
Aug 19, 2009 |
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Immunology researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found that bacteria present in the human gut help initiate the body's defense mechanisms against Toxoplasma gondii, the parasite responsible for to ...
Urine samples could be used to predict responses to drugs, say researchers
Aug 10, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers may be able to predict how people will respond to particular drugs by analysing their urine samples, suggest scientists behind a new study published today in the journal Proceedings of ...
Emergency physician judgment on chest pain patients syncs with their outcomes
Aug 04, 2009 |
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Emergency physicians should trust their judgment when evaluating patients who report with chest pain symptoms, said a group of researchers led by Abhinav Chandra, M.D., at Duke University Medical Center.
