Open main menu
Home
Random
Recent changes
Special pages
Community portal
Preferences
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Incubator escapee wiki
Search
User menu
Talk
Dark mode
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Editing
Small intestine
(section)
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
===Size=== The length of the small intestine can vary greatly, from as short as {{convert|3|m|ft|abbr=off|frac=2}} to as long as {{convert|10.5|m|ft|abbr=on|frac=2}}, also depending on the measuring technique used.<ref name=Di2016/> The typical length in a living person is {{Convert|3–5|m|abbr=on|frac=2}}.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Principles of Anatomy & Physiology|last=Tortora|first=Gerard|publisher=Wiley|year=2014|isbn=978-1-118-34500-9|location=USA|pages=[https://archive.org/details/principlesofanat0000tort/page/913 913]|quote=..its length is about 3m in a living person and about 6.5m in a cadaver due to loss of smooth muscle tone after death.|url=https://archive.org/details/principlesofanat0000tort/page/913}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Gray's Anatomy|last=Standring|first=Susan|publisher=Elsevier|year=2016|isbn=978-0-7020-5230-9|location=UK|pages=1124|quote=..and has a mean length of 5 metres (3 - 8.5 metres) when measured intraoperatively in the living adult (Tietelbaum et al 2013).}}</ref> The length depends both on how tall the person is and how the length is measured.<ref name=Di2016/> Taller people generally have a longer small intestine and measurements are generally longer after death and when the bowel is empty.<ref name=Di2016>{{cite book|last1=DiBaise|first1=John K.|last2=Parrish|first2=Carol Rees|last3=Thompson|first3=Jon S.|title=Short Bowel Syndrome: Practical Approach to Management|date=2016|publisher=CRC Press|isbn=9781498720809|page=31|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GBhjDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA31|language=en}}</ref> {|class="wikitable" align="right" |+ Small bowel dilation on [[CT scan]] in adults<ref name="JacobsRozenblit2007">{{cite journal|last1=Jacobs|first1=S.L.|last2=Rozenblit|first2=A.|last3=Ricci|first3=Z.|last4=Roberts|first4=J.|last5=Milikow|first5=D.|last6=Chernyak|first6=V.|last7=Wolf|first7=E.|title=Small bowel faeces sign in patients without small bowel obstruction|journal=Clinical Radiology|volume=62|issue=4|year=2007|pages=353–357|issn=0009-9260|doi=10.1016/j.crad.2006.11.007|pmid=17331829}}</ref> |- | <2.5 cm || Non-dilated |- | 2.5-2.9 cm || Mildly dilated |- | 3–4 cm || Moderately dilated |- | >4 cm || Severely dilated |} It is approximately {{Convert|1.5|cm|abbr=off|frac=8}} in diameter in [[neonate|newborns]] after 35 weeks of [[Gestational age (obstetrics)|gestational age]],<ref>{{cite journal|title=Overview of short bowel syndrome and intestinal transplantation|author=Debora Duro, Daniel Kamin|journal=Colombia Médica|volume=38|issue=1|year=2007}}</ref> and {{Convert|2.5–3|cm|abbr=on|frac=8}} in diameter in adults. On [[abdominal X-ray]]s, the small intestine is considered to be abnormally dilated when the diameter exceeds 3 cm.<ref name=medscape>{{cite web|url=http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/374962-overview|title=Small-Bowel Obstruction Imaging|website=[[Medscape]]|date=2016-09-22|author=Ali Nawaz Khan|access-date=2017-02-07}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.radiologymasterclass.co.uk/tutorials/abdo/abdomen_x-ray_abnormalities/pathology_small_bowel_obstruction|title=Abdominal X-ray - Abnormal bowel gas pattern|website=radiologymasterclass.co.uk|access-date=2017-02-07}}</ref> On [[CT scan]]s, a diameter of over 2.5 cm is considered abnormally dilated.<ref name=medscape/><ref name="GazelleGoldberg1994">{{cite journal|last1=Gazelle|first1=G S|last2=Goldberg|first2=M A|last3=Wittenberg|first3=J|last4=Halpern|first4=E F|last5=Pinkney|first5=L|last6=Mueller|first6=P R|title=Efficacy of CT in distinguishing small-bowel obstruction from other causes of small-bowel dilatation.|journal=American Journal of Roentgenology|volume=162|issue=1|year=1994|pages=43–47|issn=0361-803X|doi=10.2214/ajr.162.1.8273687|pmid=8273687|doi-access=free}}</ref> The surface area of the human [[Human gastrointestinal tract#Mucosa|small intestinal mucosa]], due to enlargement caused by folds, villi and microvilli, averages {{Convert|30|m2}}.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Helander|first1=Herbert F|last2=Fändriks|first2=Lars|s2cid=11094705|title=Surface area of the digestive tract – revisited|journal=Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology|volume=49|issue=6|year=2015|pages=681–689|issn=0036-5521|doi=10.3109/00365521.2014.898326|pmid= 24694282 }}</ref>
Edit summary
(Briefly describe your changes)
By publishing changes, you agree to the
Terms of Use
, and you irrevocably agree to release your contribution under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 License
and the
GFDL
. You agree that a hyperlink or URL is sufficient attribution under the Creative Commons license.
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)