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diglycerides as well as fatty acids, so they all can be quickly absorbed. Long chain complex fatty acids usually enter our lymph system through channels called lacteals. Lymph appears as a milky fluid, migrating slowly up into the chest (thorax), where it is enters the circulation to mingle with our blood. This lymphatic vascular system enables the breakdown products of absorbed fat to bypass our liver for several minutes, and thereby be distributed to other tissues, notably the adipose (fat) cells. End products of carbohydrate and protein digestion are absorbed directly into the bloodstream, transported by the portal veins to our liver. Minerals and vitamins, such as iron and B12 are absorbed in the small intestine, together with most of the water we consume. The large intestine, or colon, consists of the following six segments: cecum, ascending, transverse, descending, sigmoid, and rectum. The appendix attaches to the cecum. It contains a specialized type of lymphoid tissue, as does the small intestinal lining (Peyer’s patches). In our colon the final absorption of water, and formation of the stool (waste products) takes place. Constipation occurs when the intake of dietary fiber, your physical exercise, inadequate fluid intake, or other habit patterns are out of balance, preventing regular perstalsis and evacuation. Hemorrhoids, dilated veins in the rectal area, then may develop, with irritation, pain, or bleeding. The pancreas is an accessory organ to digestion, cradled in a curve of the duodenum, and lying behind the stomach. It secretes into the second portion of the duodenum juices rich in fat-splitting enzymes (lipase), protein-digesting enzymes (trypsin and chymotrypsin), and a starch splitter (pancreatic amylase). Further digestion of carbohydrate occurs in the intestine with the disaccharidesplitting enzymes (sucrose, lactose, and maltose), as described in Chapter 16. Bile is produced by the liver and stored in the gall bladder. Under the influence of a stimulating hormone (cholecystokinin-pancreozymin), the same substance which stimulates pancreatic secretions, the bile releases. By a strong gallbladder contraction bile squirts through the common bile duct into the duodenum. Bile aids in fat emulsification, making the fat droplet particles small enough to permit entrance into our lymphatic system. Occasional stones can form in the gallbladder, producing chronic irritation (cholecystitis). When gall stones block the bile duct, jaundice develops, with the very severe pain of a gallbladder attack. The largest “gland� of our body is the liver, filling the upper right section of the abdominal cavity and extending across to the left. One of its important functions is to secrete bile. This juice drains out of the liver through the hepatic duct and is stored in the gallbladder, as mentioned above. After a big dinner, glucose, amino acids, and some of the breakdown products of fat are absorbed into the blood, passing through the portal veins to our liver. The