Page:Structure and functions of the body; a hand-book of anatomy and physiology for nurses and others desiring a practical knowledge of the subject (IA structurefunctio00fiskrich).pdf/147

 *tion of the gastric nerve center in the brain or by irritation of the stomach itself.

—The intestinal canal: 1, Stomach; 2, duodenum; 3, jejunum; 4, ileum; 5, cecum; 6, vermiform appendix; 7, ascending colon; 8, transverse colon; 9, descending colon; 10, sigmoid flexure; 11, rectum. (Leidy.)

Intestinal Canal.—From the stomach the food passes into the intestinal canal, a convoluted tube which extends from the stomach to the anus and in which, more particularly in the upper portion, the greater part of the digestion and absorption of food takes place. This tube, which is about six times the height of its possessor, consists of two parts, the small and the large intestines, the first four-fifths, or about 25 feet, being small intestine. It occupies the central and lower parts of the abdominal cavity and a small portion of the pelvic cavity, and is attached to the spine by the mesentery, which, however,