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, ...

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 ...

When it comes to intestines, it sure seems like two are better than one. I asked my friend Franck Carbonero why that is. He’s a microbiologist at Washington State University. He studies the bacteria ...

Short bowel syndrome (SBS) affects how well the small intestine absorbs nutrients. Surgery, medications, and nutritional support are all part of a comprehensive treatment plan for this condition. SBS ...

Women’s small intestines are longer than men’s, with this added length probably helping them to better absorb fat and other nutrients if needed for pregnancy and breastfeeding. “The small intestine is ...

When protein antigens are injected into the small intestine of wild-type mice, they are passed to dendritic cells in the Peyer's patches; similar experiments in M-cell-deficient mice result in fewer ...