what are bowels

The bowels are part of the digestive system and are made up of the small bowel (small intestine) and the large bowel (colon and rectum) . The small bowel is longer than the large bowel but gets its name from the fact that it is much narrower than the large bowel. The bowel processes all the food we eat and breaks it down into nutrients for the body to use. It also gets rid of any solid waste matter from the body as poo (also called faeces or stools) . The large bowel is about 2 meters long and 6-7 cm wide and starts at the final portion of the small bowel (small intestine) and goes all the way to the rectum. Once the bowel has done its work and absorbed nutrients from food, the waste travels to the rectum which stretches, triggering a message to the brain to say that the bowel is full and needs to be emptied. The pelvic floor muscles, when well-toned, ensure the anus remains closed until it’s time to go to the toilet. The anus is the opening at the end of the large bowel and contains a ring of muscle called the sphincter, which helps to control when you empty your bowels.