Large+Intestine

**Large Intestine:**
The large intestine is the third-to-last part of the digestive system in humans. Its function is to absorb water from the remaining indigestible food matter, and then to pass useless waste material from the body. This article is primarily about the human gut, though the information about its processes are directly applicable to most mammals. The large intestine consists of the cecum and colon. It starts in the right iliac region of the pelvis, just at or below the right waist, where it is joined to the bottom end of the small intestine. From here it continues up the abdomen, then across the width of the abdominal cavity, and then it turns down, continuing to its endpoint at the anus. The large intestine is about 4.9 feet (1.5 m) long, which is about one-fifth of the whole length of the intestinal canal.

Large intestine main function
The large intestine is the thick, lower end of the digestive system, containing the appendix, colon and rectum. Its principle function is to reabsorb water and maintains the fluid balance of the body. Certain vitamins are also taken in through the large intestinal wall. Further down the intestine, in the rectum, faeces are stored waste before it is eliminated. Another function is to process undigestible material (fibre), which makes up the bulk of the waste products.

TRUE OR FALSE REVISION QUESTIONS:
 * the health of your skin reflects of the health of your large intestinelarge intestine
 * it's called "large intestine" because of it's width, not it's lenght
 * the large intestine is 3-4 inches long.
 * there is about 5,800 different kinds of cacteria in the large intestine
 * it's possible to live without your large intestine
 * The large intestine is divided into 6 pieces, they are cecum, ascending colon, transverse colon, descending colon, sigmoid colon and the rectum.
 * Gases that build up in your large intestine cause flatulence. It usually takes about 30 to 45 minutes for these gases to pass through your system.
 * The major function of the large intestine is to absorb the liquid sent to it from the small intestine and then to eliminate the fecal material that remains
 * the large intestine's major part is to absorb any electrolytes (sodium) and water that has not already been absorbed.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">The undigested food enters the large intestine as a liquid paste

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VIDEO:
http://www.kidport.com/reflib/science/HumanBody/DigestiveSystem/Video/LargeIntestineVideo.htm