The human gastrointestinal tract is the stomach and intestine, sometimes including all the structures from the mouth to the anus. (The "digestive system" is a broader term that includes other structures, including the accessory organs of digestion).
In an adult male human, the gastrointestinal (GI) tract is 5 metres (20 ft) long in a live subject, or up to 9 metres (30 ft) without the effect of muscle tone, and consists of the upper and lower GI tracts. The tract may also be divided into foregut, midgut, and hindgut, reflecting the embryological origin of each segment of the tract.
The GI tract always releases hormones to help regulate the digestion process. These hormones, including gastrin, secretin, cholecystokinin, and grehlin, are mediated through either intracrine or autocrine mechanisms, indicating that the cells releasing these hormones are conserved structures throughout evolution.
Read more about Human Gastrointestinal Tract: Upper Gastrointestinal Tract, Lower Gastrointestinal Tract, Embryology, Transit Time, Pathology, Immune Function, Histology
Famous quotes containing the words human and/or tract:
“As soon as we exceed average human goodness by even a single step, our actions arouse suspicion. Virtue stands steadily “in the middle.””
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“My lusts they do me leave,
My fancies all be fled,
And tract of time begins to weave
Grey hairs upon my head.”
—Thomas Vaux, 2d Baron Vaux Of Harrowden (1510–1566)