This story is part of a series exploring human anatomy and physiology complexities. Each story in this collection showcases discoveries reshaping our understanding of the body's inner workings, ...

People are often reminded that they are their own unique person -- and a new study says that's particularly true of the digestive tract. Dissections of a few dozen deceased individuals revealed ...

Tourists visiting an unfamiliar city would have a hard time finding their way around if they were using nothing but a topological map, no matter how detailed. Most tourist maps, therefore, highlight ...

The small intestine, where most vitamins and other micronutrients are digested and absorbed. Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert ...

The gut microbiome is an important ecosystem of microbes that lives in each one of us, and its strength affects our overall health. However, the small intestine is an underappreciated part of the gut ...

What drew you into gut microbiome research? I work with people who suffer from functional gastrointestinal disorders and have a myriad of symptoms, many which change over time. These diseases are ...

Villi are tiny projections in the small intestine that help absorb nutrients and aid digestion. Damage to your villi can lead ...

The main function of the intestine is to complete the digestion of food, absorb nutrients and excrete unused remnants while providing a selective barrier between the organism and its environment.

Microbiome research to date has been much like the parable of the blind men and the elephant. How much can be said about an elephant by examining just its tail? Researchers have studied what is most ...