Functions:
The small intestine breaks down the food mixture and absorbs the vitamins, minerals, proteins, carbohydrate and fats. The most of the chemical digestion takes place in the small intestine, the most of the digestive enzymes enter the small intestine are secreted by the pancreas and liver. The three major nutrients which undergo digestion are proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates. Proteins are breakdown and digested into small peptides and amino acids, lipids are degraded into fatty acids and glycerol, carbohydrates are degraded into simple sugars.
Diseases:
There are varieties of diseases of small intestine which are caused due to obstructive diseases infectious diseases, bacterial infections, viral infections, tumours, and developmental conditions. The name of the disease conditions are as follows, hernia, adhesion, paralytic ileus, giardiasis, ascariasis, hookworm disease, shigella, salmonella enterica, E. coli infection, vibrio cholera , rotavirus, adenovirus. Tumours include lymphoma, sarcoma, leiomyoma developmental disorders are duodenal atresia, meckel’s diverticulum, pyloric stenosis etc. And many other conditios are there which affect the small intestine.
Interesting Facts:
The largest internal organ is the small intestine. Despite being called the smaller of the two intestines, your small intestine is actually four times as long as the average adult height.
