Intestine

{in-tes*-tin\ [intestinics, intestine, from intics, within]. The part of the digestive tube extending from the beginning of the pylorus to the anus. It consists of the small and large intestine. The former is about 63^ meters (20 feet) in length, and extends from the pylorus to its junction with the large intestine at the cecum. Three divisions are described,— the duodenum, 22 cm. long, is the most important; the jejunum, 2. 2 meters long, and the ileum, 4 meters long. The large intestine is about 1.6 meters (5 feet) long, and consists of the cecum (with the appendix vermiform is), the colon, and the rectum. The wall of the intestine is made up of four coats, — a serous, muscular, submucous, and mucous. Embedded in the wall are minute glands, and projecting from the surface, in the small intestine, are the villi. The function of the intestine is to continue and complete the changes begun in the mouth and stomach, and to remove the waste-matter or feces. 339