File:Digestive_system_without_labels.svg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
gastrointestinal tract
Sign in to saveAlso known as alimentary canal, gut, digestive tract, GI tract, GIT, guts, gastrointestinal organs, gastrointestinal system
set of organs ensuring the ingestion and digestion of food
Your gastrointestinal tract is the system of organs in your body that takes in food, breaks it down, and processes it for your body to use. It matters because it's essential for digestion—the process that converts the food you eat into nutrients your body needs to function and survive.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Research
808,653 papers- Mechanisms of Damage to the Gastrointestinal Tract From Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs.Gastroenterology · 2018
- Age-related changes of the gastrointestinal tract.The lancet. Gastroenterology & hepatology · 2026
- Imaging of Gastrointestinal Tract Perforation.Radiologic clinics of North America · 2020
- Gastrointestinal tract, its pathophysiology and in-vitro models: A "quick" reference guide to translational studies.World journal of gastroenterology · 2025
- Flavonoids and the gastrointestinal tract: Local and systemic effects.Molecular aspects of medicine · 2018
via PubMed
Wikidata facts
- Part of
- human digestive system
Show 4 more facts
- topic has template
- Template:Digestive tract
- Commons category
- Human abdominal digestive organs
- native label
- Tractus digestorius
- different from
- usage
via Wikidata · CC0
~29 min read
Encyclopedic overview
The gastrointestinal tract (also called the GI tract, digestive tract, and the alimentary canal) is the tract or passageway of the digestive system that leads from the mouth to the anus. The tract is one of the largest of the body's systems. The GI tract contains all the major organs of the digestive system, in humans and other animals, including the esophagus, stomach, and intestines. Food taken in through the mouth is digested to extract nutrients and absorb energy, and the waste expelled at the anus as feces. Gastrointestinal is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the stomach and intestines.
Most animals have a "through-gut" or complete digestive tract. Exceptions are more primitive ones: sponges have small pores (ostia) throughout their body for digestion and a larger dorsal pore (osculum) for excretion, comb jellies have both a ventral mouth and dorsal anal pores, while cnidarians and acoels have a single pore for both digestion and excretion.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “gastrointestinal tract” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.