Michael Holtz, left, chats with Eric Mayer while touring the inside of Nolan the Rollin’ Colon at the Pollard Technology Conference Center in Oak Ridge, Tenn. on Tuesday, March 21, 2023.

The workings of the small intestine have long been a mystery, but now we are discovering the hidden roles this organ plays in appetite, metabolism and the microbiome – and how to look after it better ...

The microvilli give the inside of the intestine the look and feel of velvet. Each microvillus contains a minute blood capillary. ... Indigestible food passes into the large intestine.