Overview
The last section of your digestive system's long, tube-like gastrointestinal (GI) tract, which is where food ultimately exits your body, is the large intestine.
It proceeds from the small intestine and terminates at the anal canal, which is where bodily waste from food is expelled. When you poop, the large intestine removes food waste from the body by converting it into stool.
People mentally divide the large intestine because there is no real division. They may call it the colon but mean the cecum, colon, and rectum. The colon, including the cecum, is considered here.
The large intestine is only about six feet long, compared to the small intestine's length of 22 feet. The big intestine is so named because it is broader — roughly three inches — than the small intestine, which is just one inch in diameter.
The intestine can contract in different ways for separating layers of circular and longitudinal muscles. The mucous lining contains blood vessels, nerve endings, and glands that secrete and absorb substances.