Large Intestine Function Overview
Article Sources
- 1. Quigley, Eamonn M M. 'Gut Bacteria in Health and Disease.' Gastroenterology & Hepatology, Millennium Medical Publishing, Sept. 2013, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3983973
- 2. Rinninella, Emanuele, et al. 'What Is the Healthy Gut Microbiota Composition? A Changing Ecosystem across Age, Environment, Diet, and Diseases.' Microorganisms, MDPI, 10 Jan. 2019, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6351938
- 3. Sender, Ron, et al. 'Revised Estimates for the Number of Human and Bacteria Cells in the Body.' PLoS Biology, Public Library of Science, 19 Aug. 2016, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4991899
- 4. Hsiao, William W L, et al. 'The Microbes of the Intestine: an Introduction to Their Metabolic and Signaling Capabilities.' Endocrinology and Metabolism Clinics of North America, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Dec. 2008, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4411945
- 5. Sears, Cynthia L. 'A Dynamic Partnership: Celebrating Our Gut Flora.' Anaerobe, Academic Press, 27 June 2005, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1075996405000685
Gut Flora
The large intestine is a vast reservoir of microorganisms. To put it in context, the gut carries about ten times as many microorganisms as the number of cells, roughly 10 trillion, in the human body.3Sender, Ron, et al. ‘Revised Estimates for the Number of Human and Bacteria Cells in the Body.’ PLoS Biology, Public Library of Science, 19 Aug. 2016, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4991899
According to some estimates, the bacteria in the large intestines have nearly a hundred times as many genes, in aggregate, as those present in the human genome.4Hsiao, William W L, et al. ‘The Microbes of the Intestine: an Introduction to Their Metabolic and Signaling Capabilities.’ Endocrinology and Metabolism Clinics of North America, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Dec. 2008, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4411945 Gut bacteria perform metabolic activities akin to those of an organ.
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