Title: What is the function of the small intestine? | Digestive Health - Sharecare
Headings: What is the function of the small intestine?
What is the function of the small intestine?
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Content: Your small intestine connects your stomach above it to your large intestine (or colon) below it. Your small intestine has three parts. The duodenum is a short section at the top of the small intestine that takes semi-digested food from your stomach and digests it further, using bile from your gallbladder and liver and enzymes from the pancreas. The jejunum is the middle portion of the small intestine. It uses wave-like contractions to push the food through to the lower part of your small intestine. As the food moves through the jejunum it continues being digested and takes on a more fluid state. The ileum is the longest part of the small intestine and the part from which most nutrients and liquid are absorbed from food, before the remainder of the food is deposited into the large intestine. Dr. William B. Salt, MD
Gastroenterologist
The small intestine is 15 to 20 feet long and includes three sections: the duodenum (which makes up the first 10 inches of the small intestine)
the jejunum (which makes up the next 5 feet)
the ileum (which makes up the rest). Digestion and absorption of food take place primarily in the small intestine.