The Intestine

The small intestine is 50 to 65 feet (ca. 15 to 20 m.) long. The mesentery of about the first two feet (ca. 60 cm.) is two to two and a half inches (ca. 5 to 6 cm.) long; this part may be termed duodenum. The remainder (Jejuno-ileum) has a mesentery about six to eight inches (ca. 15 to 20 cm.) long, which is thick and contains a quantity of fat, and numerous large lymph glands at its root; the root is attached in the sublumbar region behind the stomach and blends here with the mesentery of the large intestine. The small intestine is arranged in close coils and lies mainly on the left side and floor of the abdomen, from the stomach to the pelvis; some coils, however, lie against the right flank. The opening of the bile-duct is about one or two inches (ca. 2.5 to 5 cm.) from the pylorus, and that of the pancreatic duct about four or five inches (ca. 10 to 15 cm.) beyond it. Peyer’s patches and solitary glands are numerous and very distinct; the patches are usually band-like and prominent; the solitary glands form projecting nodules marked by crypts.

The large intestine is about 15 feet (ca. 4 to 5 meters) in length, and is for the most part much wider than the small intestine; it is connected by a mesentery with the dorsal abdominal wall between the kidneys. The cæcum is cylindrical, about 8 to 12 inches (ca. 20 to 30 cm.) long, and 3 to 4 inches (ca. 8 to 10 cm.) wide. It lies against the upper part of the right flank, its blind end reaching to within about two inches (ca. 5 cm.) of the pelvic inlet. The ileum joins the cæcum obliquely and projects somewhat into its lumen. The colon has at first about the same caliber as the cæcum, but becomes gradually smaller. Most of it is arranged in three close, double spiral coils in the mesentery, in relation chiefly to the right flank externally, and to the small intestine behind and to the left. On emerging from this spiral labyrinth, it passes forward to the stomach and pancreas and then turns backward; this terminal part is narrow, median in position, and closely attached by a short mesentery to the sublumbar region. The rectum is usually surrounded by a quantity of fat. The cæcum has three longitudinal muscular bands and three rows of sacculations, which are continued a short distance on the colon. The spiral colon has two bands and two series of sacculations, which, however, gradually disappear in the centrifugal part.