15 THE GUTS

Question 1

What is the average length of the alimentary canal in an average-sized man?

Answer 1

About forty feet long

Question 2

What is the average bowel transit time for men?

Answer 2

Fifty-five hours

Question 3

What is the average bowel transit time for women?

Answer 3

Seventy-two hours

Question 4

How long does food typically spend in the stomach?

Answer 4

Four to six hours

Question 5

How long does food typically spend in the small intestine?

Answer 5

Six to eight hours

Question 6

What is the main function of the colon?

Answer 6

Fermentation of undigested food and fiber

Question 7

Why is fiber important for gut health?

Answer 7

It keeps gut microbes happy and reduces the risk of several diseases

Question 8

Where is the stomach located in the human body?

Answer 8

Higher up and off center to the left

Question 9

What is the technical term for gut rumblings?

Answer 9

Borborygmi

Question 10

What is chyme?

Answer 10

The consistency of food when it reaches the stomach after digestion

Question 11

What does the stomach primarily do in digestion?

Answer 11

Contributes chemically and physically but is not vital

Question 12

How much food can the human stomach hold?

Answer 12

About one and a half quarts

Question 13

What is the primary role of hydrochloric acid in the stomach?

Answer 13

To kill off many microbes

Question 14

What is the leading cause of foodborne illness in the United States?

Answer 14

Green leafy vegetables

Question 15

What percentage of chicken pieces sold in stores are contaminated with salmonella?

Answer 15

About a quarter

Question 16

How many cases of salmonella infection are estimated to occur annually in the U.S.?

Answer 16

1,120,000 cases

Question 17

Who is salmonella named after?

Answer 17

Daniel Elmer Salmon

Question 18

What was the source of the E. coli outbreak at Jack in the Box in 1992?

Answer 18

Undercooked meat

Question 19

What is the most common cause of emergency surgery related to the appendix?

Answer 19

Appendicitis

Question 20

What is the approximate incidence of appendicitis in developed countries?

Answer 20

One in every sixteen people

Question 21

What is the average length of the small intestine?

Answer 21

About twenty-five feet

Question 22

What are the three sections of the small intestine?

Answer 22

• Duodenum
• Jejunum
• Ileum

Question 23

What are villi?

Answer 23

Tiny hairlike projections that increase the surface area of the small intestine

Question 24

How often are the epithelial cells of the gut replaced?

Answer 24

Every three to four days

Question 25

What is the vermiform appendix?

Answer 25

The fingerlike protrusion from the cecum with no certain purpose

Question 26

What did William Beaumont study?

Answer 26

The only stomach on Earth that could be studied directly

Question 27

What was the name of Beaumont's landmark book?

Answer 27

Experiments and Observations on the Gastric Juice and the Physiology of Digestion

Question 28

What is the main danger of a ruptured appendix?

Answer 28

It can lead to death without immediate medical treatment

Question 29

What is the function of the cecum in humans?

Answer 29

Of no particular consequence

Question 30

What is the common misconception about salmonella?

Answer 30

That it is related to spawning fish

Question 31

Fill in the blank: The stomach contributes to digestion by soaking contents in _______.

Answer 31

hydrochloric acid

Question 32

What is the connection between the small intestine and the large intestine called?

Answer 32

Ileocecal sphincter

Question 33

What did Sir William Arbuthnot Lane incorrectly believe about the large intestine?

Answer 33

It promoted a buildup of morbid toxins leading to autointoxication

Question 34

What surgical procedure did Lane perform that was later deemed unnecessary?

Answer 34

Total colectomies

Question 35

What was Henry Cotton's belief regarding psychiatric disorders?

Answer 35

They were caused by congenitally misshapen bowels

Question 36

What did Cotton's surgical practices result in?

Answer 36

Killed 30 percent of his patients

Question 37

What important function does the large intestine perform?

Answer 37

Reabsorbs water and houses microbial flora

Question 38

How much feces does an adult in the West produce daily?

Answer 38

About 200 grams

Question 39

What are the main components of feces?

Answer 39

* Dead bacteria * Undigested fiber * Sloughed-off intestinal cells * Residues of dead red blood cells

Question 40

What is the average lifespan feces produced by an adult in the West?

Answer 40

180 pounds a year, 14,000 pounds in a lifetime

Question 41

Where is most gut cancer found?

Answer 41

In the large intestine

Question 42

Who was the first person to take a scientific interest in stools?

Answer 42

Theodor Escherich

Question 43

What microorganism did Escherich discover in babies' stools?

Answer 43

Escherichia coli

Question 44

What is E. coli known for in scientific research?

Answer 44

It is the most studied microbe on the planet

Question 45

What is flatus primarily composed of?

Answer 45

* Carbon dioxide (up to 50 percent) * Hydrogen (up to 40 percent) * Nitrogen (up to 20 percent)

Question 46

What causes the smell of flatus?

Answer 46

Hydrogen sulfide

Question 47

What tragic event occurred in Nancy, France, in 1978 related to flatus?

Answer 47

An explosion during anal surgery caused by cauterizing a polyp

Question 48

What modern surgical technique reduces discomfort and eliminates explosive risks during surgery?

Answer 48

Laparoscopic surgery

Question 49

True or False: Most strains of E. coli are harmful to humans.

Answer 49

False

Question 50

Fill in the blank: The large intestine is often described as a kind of _______.

Answer 50

Fermentation tank