WEBVTT - From Nose to Tail: Into the Intestines

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to stuff to Blow your Mind from how Stuff

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<v Speaker 1>Works dot com. Hey, welcome to stuff to bowl your mind.

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<v Speaker 1>My name is Robert Lamb, and we are continuing our

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<v Speaker 1>journey from nose to tail, from snout the sphincter, from

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<v Speaker 1>tongue to taint. I don't know, I'm running. That's great.

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<v Speaker 1>It's pretty good too. Yeah. So anyway, we are continuing

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<v Speaker 1>this epic journey through the digestive system. We began at

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<v Speaker 1>the nose really at the beginning of sensing the things

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<v Speaker 1>that you might eat, and we continued on through chewing.

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<v Speaker 1>We talked about swallowing, about the forming of the bullus,

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<v Speaker 1>we talked about the stomach, and I believe that's where

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<v Speaker 1>we left up. Yeah, yeah, when we last last left

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<v Speaker 1>the cime. That's that's what the bullets became, was lulling

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<v Speaker 1>around in digestive juices. Um. These digestive juices rich and

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<v Speaker 1>ensign and acids with the pH level of two, which

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<v Speaker 1>is just one above the acids in the stomach of

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<v Speaker 1>a vulture. By the way, uh so, yeah, the result

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<v Speaker 1>was a thick, creamy substance which we do call clime.

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<v Speaker 1>So if you think of this digestive journey as a

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<v Speaker 1>ride at a theme park, then you can kind of

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<v Speaker 1>think about this next part of the ride. Um through

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<v Speaker 1>the small intestine is the point in the theme park

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<v Speaker 1>where you start to queue up that long line. So

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<v Speaker 1>we're we're up at the top of the peak right

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<v Speaker 1>about the we're just slowly reaching the edge and then

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<v Speaker 1>we're gonna tip over and it's just gonna be this

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<v Speaker 1>epic ride all the way out, yes, and we are

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<v Speaker 1>about to slide into the intestines. And it's me quite

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<v Speaker 1>a ride because, as Mary Rich describes, the intestines and

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<v Speaker 1>gulp of the walls are bologny, pink and lush with

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<v Speaker 1>mucostal folds. These are circular folds that help regulate the

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<v Speaker 1>flow of digestive food. And then the whole shebang is

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<v Speaker 1>covered in alimeter along projections called villa, which are kind

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<v Speaker 1>of like tiny little fingers sticking out um and she

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<v Speaker 1>actually likens it to little loops on terry cloth, which

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<v Speaker 1>I thought was a good description. They helped to increase

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<v Speaker 1>the surface area that the food passes through, and they

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<v Speaker 1>are also covered with another type of villai called microvilli.

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<v Speaker 1>So you have a ton of surface area here and

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<v Speaker 1>we always you know, hear about when you're you're in

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<v Speaker 1>school about the small intestine being sort of an ironic

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<v Speaker 1>name for it because it's not so small, right right,

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<v Speaker 1>It's it's pretty big. In fact, if you were to

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<v Speaker 1>take it stretch it all out. Don't do this because

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<v Speaker 1>it's really hard to put it all back once you're done.

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<v Speaker 1>But if you were to take your small intestines out

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<v Speaker 1>and stretch it out flat, just flatten it down, it

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<v Speaker 1>would cover a tennis court, an entire tennis court. The

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<v Speaker 1>Williams sisters could take on another opposing team I don't

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<v Speaker 1>know enough about tennis to fill that team on an

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<v Speaker 1>antic Cornicovi and Pete Sampras why not uh, And they

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<v Speaker 1>could play on the surface of your intestines the entire game.

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<v Speaker 1>They'd have to get used to it because you know,

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<v Speaker 1>presumably that micro villa I would really be sticking to

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<v Speaker 1>the soles of their shoes. Well, I mean, if we

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<v Speaker 1>spread it out, then I'm thinking we get a smooth surface,

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<v Speaker 1>we get rid of those ripples, We're gonna iron out

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<v Speaker 1>this intestinal tissue. I don't know. I think you'd have

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<v Speaker 1>to treat that small intestine tennis court. Probably they're gonna

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<v Speaker 1>have to wear special shoes or maybe go barefooted, but

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<v Speaker 1>that might be a little weird for them. Oh man,

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<v Speaker 1>can you imagine the sounds that would make, Like can

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<v Speaker 1>you imagine watching Wimbledon and hearing the squishing and then

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<v Speaker 1>the grunting, right, because some of the players grunt. But anyway,

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<v Speaker 1>we get into an entirely different territory when we start

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<v Speaker 1>talking about grunting, and we talked about the intestines um,

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<v Speaker 1>that just kind of gives you a good light of

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<v Speaker 1>the land, like what does this actually look like inside

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<v Speaker 1>of your body? And it's But the thing is one

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<v Speaker 1>of the things about the small intestines and the colon

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<v Speaker 1>which if you're just here, you're just tuning in to this,

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<v Speaker 1>this is these are the final two steps in our journey.

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<v Speaker 1>We're gonna do this episode and then we're gonna do

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<v Speaker 1>an episode on the colon um. So we're almost there.

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<v Speaker 1>We're almost to the Promised Land. But the thing is

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<v Speaker 1>that so many people don't want to think past the stomach.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, it's kind of like, oh, I ate some

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<v Speaker 1>delicious food, it's in my tummy. Now my tummy is

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<v Speaker 1>where stuff happens, and then everything else don't want to

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<v Speaker 1>hear about it don't want to know. Well, that's because

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<v Speaker 1>a small intestine in the colon are kind of where

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<v Speaker 1>the sausage making happens. And nobody likes to think about

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<v Speaker 1>sausage making, right, Yes, political or actual sausage making. Right.

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<v Speaker 1>This is where I mean in a sense, this is

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<v Speaker 1>where gross things are continuing to happen. It's it's the

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<v Speaker 1>final journey in which the things that we ate, uh

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<v Speaker 1>look less and less like what we consumed and more

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<v Speaker 1>and more like the poop that's going to come out

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<v Speaker 1>at the end. Yeah, And on this journey right now,

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<v Speaker 1>as he said, we've got that ball of crime and

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<v Speaker 1>now it's queuing up at the pyloric valve. This is

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<v Speaker 1>a portal into the first section of your small intestine.

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<v Speaker 1>Now remember that this first of all this time formerly

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<v Speaker 1>was Haggis, right, and now it's strip by saying it

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<v Speaker 1>was Haggis and it remains yes, And through a process

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<v Speaker 1>called peristalsis is being pushed through now from the pyloric

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<v Speaker 1>valve into the small intestine. Only a little bit at

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<v Speaker 1>a time, though, because the remaining parts continues to get

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<v Speaker 1>broken down until it's just the right consistency where it

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<v Speaker 1>can get pushed through um the kind that boards the duodenum.

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<v Speaker 1>This is the first part of the small intestine gets

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<v Speaker 1>hosed with bile which is discharged through the gall bladder,

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<v Speaker 1>the liver and the pancreas through ducks that lead to

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<v Speaker 1>the small intestine. All right, biling it up, Yeah, biling

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<v Speaker 1>it up, getting hosed. The reason for this is that

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<v Speaker 1>it's going to get broken down even further into nutrients

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<v Speaker 1>in the form of food molecules. And also there's just

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<v Speaker 1>there are also some enzymes from the pancreas in there

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<v Speaker 1>as well, happing to break things down because again it

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<v Speaker 1>continues to be a matter of we have consumed food,

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<v Speaker 1>we have consumed energy and food form, and the whole

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<v Speaker 1>trip through it has to be broken down, has to

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<v Speaker 1>be taken apart, it has to be disassembled. It's like

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<v Speaker 1>a it's like a chrysler that has been taken to

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<v Speaker 1>a chop shop and by the end of it, there's

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<v Speaker 1>gonna be nothing left but an empty shell out on

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<v Speaker 1>sin are blocks. Yeah, and you've got a couple of accomplices, right,

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<v Speaker 1>and you've got you know, with the liver, the gall bladder,

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<v Speaker 1>and the pancreas adding their own little chopping to this.

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<v Speaker 1>Chunk shop. Then this kind, this this haggis moves into

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<v Speaker 1>the jenna junum, and this is the middle section of

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<v Speaker 1>the small intestine that carries food through really rapidly with

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<v Speaker 1>wave like muscle contractions towards the ilium. Ilium is the

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<v Speaker 1>last section and is the longest part of your small intestine.

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<v Speaker 1>It is where most of the nutrients from your food

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<v Speaker 1>are absorbed before getting emptied into the colon. This is

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<v Speaker 1>really important because this process accounts for the absorption of

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<v Speaker 1>of the nutrients in your food that happens here in

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<v Speaker 1>the small intestine. Yeah. So so again, when when we

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<v Speaker 1>say that it's an important part of the process, it's

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<v Speaker 1>it's really, in a sense of the most important process.

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<v Speaker 1>This is where the energy absorption is really taking place.

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<v Speaker 1>This is where the money is being made for your body.

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<v Speaker 1>And and it's also going to be important later on

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<v Speaker 1>in some strange things we're going to discuss in the

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<v Speaker 1>colon section. It's true they are going to be a

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<v Speaker 1>little bit strange um, but completely normal in some ways. No, no, no, normal.

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<v Speaker 1>But I'm just saying, well, it'll all makes sense in

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<v Speaker 1>the end, but literally, but but yeah, just keep in

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<v Speaker 1>mind that the upper intestines. This is where the important

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<v Speaker 1>stuff is happening. This is where the nutrients are being

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<v Speaker 1>absorbed for the most part. And I really dig this

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<v Speaker 1>idea of these blood vessels and the walls of the

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<v Speaker 1>intestine scooping out those food molecules, those nutrients, and then

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<v Speaker 1>delivering them to the rest of body, because if you

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<v Speaker 1>look at pictures of this, it's sort of alien like

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<v Speaker 1>the way that these are coursing through the walls and

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<v Speaker 1>the intestines sucking that out. Um. But yeah, they are

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<v Speaker 1>carried up through the portal vein into the liver for

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<v Speaker 1>further processing and storage. So again you have other parts

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<v Speaker 1>of the body that are getting in on this and

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<v Speaker 1>also important here getting in on the filtration system, getting

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<v Speaker 1>on some more on their removing of toxins and other

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<v Speaker 1>bad stuff from what you ate. Indeed, they're continue to be,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, since you can continue to be police present

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<v Speaker 1>throughout the digestive process to weed out some of the

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<v Speaker 1>bad eggs. All right, So we're gonna take a quick

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<v Speaker 1>break and when we come back, we're gonna talk a

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<v Speaker 1>little more about the small intestines, about wind it's important

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<v Speaker 1>what it's doing, and some of the really crazy kind

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<v Speaker 1>of stuff that we've discovered about in recent years. All right,

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<v Speaker 1>we're back, we are, and we're talking about the small intestines.

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<v Speaker 1>We're talking about the the upper stories of your intestinal area.

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<v Speaker 1>This uh often UM ignored, often um excluded portion of

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<v Speaker 1>the human anatomy. We don't necessarily want to think about

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<v Speaker 1>what's going on there, but especially the upper intestines, vital

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<v Speaker 1>things are