Introduction

• The human gastrointestinal (GI) tract is effectively a tube lined with epithelium stretching approximately 7 metres in length from the mouth to the rectum. The main functions of the GI tract are firstly to ingest food, then digest, absorb and excrete.  

• The GI tract can be separated into 2 sections. The first of these sections is namely the upper GI tract which contains the oral cavity (consisting of the tongue and salivary glands), pharynx, esophagus and stomach. The second section is described as the lower GI tract which contains the small intestine, large intestine (consisting of the colon as shown on diagram below) and anus.

• In addition to the above organs, several other organs are vital for GI functionality, these accessory organs consist of the liver, gall bladder and pancreas.

Banner image courtesy of Flickr under creative commons licence.

Image courtesy of Wikipedia under creative commons licence.