gastrointestinal tract
Meaning of gastrointestinal tract: Spanning the stomach through the small and large intestines, this continuous passage handles digestion, nutrient absorption, and waste formation.
Definition of gastrointestinal tract
The gastrointestinal tract is the continuous passage that includes the stomach and the small and large intestines, the organs primarily responsible for breaking down food, absorbing nutrients, and forming waste for elimination. Some broader uses of the term also include the esophagus, the tube connecting the throat to the stomach.
The gastrointestinal tract is the central part of the digestive system, which also includes accessory organs such as the salivary glands, liver, pancreas, and gallbladder that contribute digestive fluids and enzymes without food actually passing through them. Food moves along the gastrointestinal tract through coordinated muscular contractions that mix and propel its contents forward.
Because the gastrointestinal tract is one continuous, connected structure, a problem originating in one section, such as inflammation, bleeding, or obstruction, can produce symptoms felt more broadly, and the location of a finding within the tract often shapes both its likely cause and how it is evaluated.
Also known as
Used in a sentence
Imaging was ordered to evaluate the gastrointestinal tract for a possible source of bleeding.
Good to know
The gastrointestinal tract is sometimes defined narrowly to begin at the stomach and sometimes broadly to include the esophagus, a distinction that can matter when interpreting exactly where in the tract a finding is located.
Word origin
Where “gastrointestinal tract” comes from
Formed from gastro-, Greek for stomach, intestinal, from Latin intestinum, meaning gut, and tract, from Latin tractus, meaning a drawing out or extent.