intestine

Imagine a long, winding passage inside the body. That is what the intestine is: the part of the digestive system that carries food on from the stomach, takes in nutrients, and later helps the body remove waste. In people and many animals, it has two main parts, the small intestine and the large intestine, and each has its own job in digestion.

You will usually meet this word in health, biology, or everyday talks about the gut. People may speak about intestinal problems, intestinal health, or the intestines as a whole. The idea is simple: this is one of the body's main inner pathways for turning food into what the body can use and moving the rest out.

The intestine is the long tube in the body that runs from the stomach to the anus. It is a central part of the digestive system, because this is where food keeps moving, nutrients are absorbed, water is taken in, and waste is prepared to leave the body. When people speak in a general way, they may use either *intestine for the organ as a whole or intestines* for its full system of parts.

This system is divided into two main sections: the *small intestine and the large intestine*. The small intestine does most of the work of digestion and nutrient absorption. After food leaves the stomach, it enters this long, narrow section, where it is broken down further and useful substances pass into the bloodstream. The large intestine, which includes the colon, is shorter and wider. It absorbs water and salts from what remains and helps form stool before it leaves the body.

The word is most often used in medicine, biology, anatomy, and everyday health talk. You may hear phrases such as *intestinal pain, intestinal disease, or intestinal health. It can also appear when people talk about food, since animal intestines are sometimes eaten or used as sausage casings. In a more figurative and less common way, intestinal fortitude* means courage or inner strength. In most situations, though, the word simply refers to the digestive passage inside the body.