Subdivision of digestive tract that connects the stomach to the large intestine and is where much of the digestion and absorption of food takes place (with the exception of ruminants). The mammalian small intestine is long and coiled and can be differentiated histologically into: duodenum, jejunem, ileum[WP,cjm,Kardong].
Comment:
[homology-note] "Intestinal surface area also is increased in amphibians and reptiles by internal folds and occasionally by a few villi. The intestine can be divided into a small intestine and a slightly wider large intestine.[well established][VHOG]" xsd:string {date_retrieved="2012-09-17", external_class="VHOG:0000055", ontology="VHOG", source="ISBN:978-0030223693 Liem KF, Bemis WE, Walker WF, Grande L, Functional Anatomy of the Vertebrates: An Evolutionary Perspective (2001) p.566", source="http://bgee.unil.ch/"}