Small intestine
The small intestine is the portion of the digestive system most responsible for absorption of nutrients from food into the bloodstream. The pyloric sphincter governs the passage of partly digested food from the stomach into the duodenum. This short first portion of the small intestine is followed by the jejunum and the ileum. The ileocecal valve of the ileum passes digested material into the large intestine.
Review Date: 11/02/2008
Reviewed By: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of
General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington
School of Medicine; George F. Longstreth, MD, Department of
Gastroenterology, Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program, San
Diego, CA. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director,
A.D.A.M., Inc.
