Small & Large Intestine
Small & Large Intestine Surgeon In Nagpur, MH
Dr. Manish Upwanshi is the Best Small & Large Intestine
Surgeon in Nagpur Maharashtra. Chemical digestion is completed in the small intestine before the chyme reaches the large intestine. Functions of the large intestine include the absorption of water and electrolytes and the elimination of feces.
Small Intestine
The small intestine is part of your digestive system. It makes up part of the long pathway that food takes through your body, called the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. When food leaves your stomach, it enters the small intestine, also called the small bowel. The small bowel connects to the large bowel, also called the large intestine or colon. The intestines are responsible for breaking food down, absorbing its nutrients and solidifying the waste. The small intestine is the longest part of the GI tract, and it is where most of your digestion takes place.
What does the small intestine do?
The small intestine is where most of the long process of digestion takes place. It:
- Systematically breaks food down.
- Absorbs nutrients.
- Extracts water.
- Moves food along the gastrointestinal tract.
There’s a lot involved in all this. The process can take up to five hours.
What happens if the small intestine is not working properly?
The small intestine absorbs nutrients and water from your food. If these functions are impaired, you may experience nutritional deficiencies and watery stools (diarrhea). The muscle movements of the small intestine help break food down and process it through your body. If these movements are impaired, you may experience indigestion and constipation. A variety of diseases and infections may cause inflammation of the small intestine, which can cause abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting.
What medical procedures treat the small bowel?
- Endoscopic mucosal resection.
- Small bowel resection.
- Surgical bypass.
- Ileostomy.
What is the large intestine?
The large intestine is the last part of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, the long, tube-like pathway that food travels through your digestive system. It follows from the small intestine and ends at the anal canal, where food waste leaves your body. The large intestine, also called the large bowel, is where food waste is formed into poop, stored, and finally excreted. It includes the colon, rectum and anus. Sometimes “colon” is also used to describe the entire large intestine.
What are the different parts of the large intestine?
The large intestine is one long tube, but slightly different things happen in different parts of it. Its three parts are the colon, the rectum and the anus. The colon can also be divided into parts. The entry point, about six inches long, is called the cecum. The rest of the colon is divided into segments: the ascending colon (traveling up), the transverse colon (traveling across to the left), the descending colon (traveling down) and the sigmoid colon (headed back across to the right).
Because there is no real division between the parts, people divide up the large intestine differently in their minds. Some people think of the large intestine as everything but the anus. They might say the three parts of the large intestine are the cecum, the colon and the rectum. Or they might call it the colon, but mean the same thing: the cecum, the rest of the colon and the rectum. Here we consider the cecum part of the colon, and everything part of the large intestine.
What does the large intestine do?
When the large intestine receives food from the small intestine, the food has been liquified by the digestive process and most of the nutrients have been absorbed. The colon’s job is to dehydrate what’s left of the food and form it into stool. It does this by slowly absorbing water and electrolytes as its muscle system moves the waste along. Meanwhile, bacteria living in your colon feed on the waste and break it down further, completing the chemical part of the digestive process.
What symptoms might indicate a problem with the large intestine?
- Changes in your bowel habits, such as diarrhea or constipation, trouble pooping or holding poop in.
- Changes in your stool, such as bleeding, color or consistency changes.
- Painful bloating and gas are products of the bacteria in your colon. If there’s too much, it could indicate constipation or food intolerance.
- Significant fatigue and malaise. This could be a lot of things, but gut issues are on the list.
How can I keep my large intestine healthy?
These general health guidelines will help you maintain a healthy gut:
- Eat more fiber. Fiber triggers the muscle contractions that move food through your colon and helps clear out residue there that could slow things down. The best way to get it is by eating plants.
- Eat better fats. Saturated fats, such as those found in red meat, are associated with higher rates of colon diseases. On the other hand, healthy fats — the Omega-3s found especially in oily fish — promote friendly bacteria in the gut.
- Drink more water. The gut uses a lot of water — for cleansing, for lubrication and absorption of nutrients — and most of us don’t drink enough of it.
- Get your colonoscopy. Colon cancer is both common and preventable. Anyone with a colon can get it, and by the time you have symptoms, it might be too late to treat it. Regular screening is the best way to prevent it and treat it in time.