Digestive system
God’s created us in the best shape and provide us with a set of organs that unite and intertwine with one another and work side by side to preserve human health and life. The most important of these organs is the digestive system, which is responsible for converting large complex food molecules into smaller, absorbable and digestible molecules, this device consists of a group of main parts, which are: mouth, pharynx, esophagus, stomach, small intestines and large intestines, and in this article we will talk about the importance of large intestine in the human body and its basic functions, and show a simplified definition of the concept of this intestine, and its main parts.
The concept of large intestine
The large intestine is one of the most important parts of the digestive system, and is defined as a channel with a relatively large diameter compared to the small intestine, its length is 150 cm and width 6.5 cm, and extends from the end of the small intestine to the anus, its main role is to receive food digested from the small intestine and absorbs the water and salts from it, and then secrets them as a stool to the anus.
The main parts of the large intestines
The large intestine is divided into three main parts:
Cecum: The first part is located in the area connected between the small intestine, and at the end of a small narrow tube is called appendix, which was named because it contains only one hole.
Colon: The second part is responsible for keeping feces or food waste until it is excreted outside the body.
Rectum: Is the last part and reaches between the large intestine and the anal canal.
The importance of large intestine in the human body
The large intestine performs a range of important functions which are:
Absorption of water: The formation of these intestines contains mucous layer contains a group of cells, which have the ability to absorb water from digested food coming from the small intestine, and thus facilitate the formation of stool and maintain a balanced level of water in the body.
Absorption of salts from digested food coming from the small intestine, and the most important of them is sodium, which helps maintain a balanced level of salts in the body.
Absorbing vitamin K and manufacturing a range of other vitamins.
Stool formation: This process is one of the most important operations that are done by the large intestine, and it happens after the stage of absorption of water and salts from the digested food coming from the small intestine to be later converted into solid stools.
