OK, this colon is not a punctuation mark. This is actually quite a wonderful part of your personal sewerage system. Without one, you would have had to wear incontinence nappies in order to avoid constant public embarrassment.
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Your colon plays a large role in your body's digestive system with regards to absorption of liquids, and is responsible for giving you solid poo when you go to the loo. That wasn’t supposed to rhyme, but what the heck.
The sewerage factory
Your colon, richly supplied by nerves, is a muscular organ that is sort of shaped like the letter M. After eating, your food should take about an hour or two to reach the colon.
Your logs enter the right side of your colon from the small intestine as chyme (a sort-of sludge, but it becomes more dense later on). It will then move to the mid-part of your colon known as the transverse colon. Lastly, your turds will move into the final part of its stinky journey to the descending colon (the left side of the M-shaped organ), down to your pelvis where it will wait in the loading zone, your rectum or sigmoid colon, and from there to your anus and into the wide world.
Throughout this process, about 90% of the moisture in faeces is absorbed by your body. The urge to take a dump is signalled by nerves in your rectum. Where you unload, well that’s just entirely up to you.
A malfunctioning system
This may sound funny, but it could actually be quite serious if your colon starts to give you trouble. Toxic megacolon can be a life-threatening condition that gives you a feeling of being bloated, because your colon is dilated. Specific anti-inflammatory medication or strong antibiotics can be prescribed to prevent bacterial infections. But in severe cases, your whole colon or parts of it can be removed. If it is completely removed, it means you'll have to carry a bag with you wherever you go. But this one gets worn underneath your clothes so you do not have to find shoes that match.
Cancer can occur in the glandular cells alongside the wall layers of your colon. As all cancers can spread, colon cancer can too. If in its later stages, it can spread through your bloodstream to other organs of the body. But the good news is that it can be treated, and very often successfully.
There is much you can do to keep your colon in good shape. Eating lots of fibre, abiding by a good diet, and drinking plenty of water will help, and could even prevent illness in the long run.
Interesting facts
If only a small portion of your colon is removed, it shouldn't have much of an effect on your bowel habits and continence
Colon cancer rates as the number five cancer affecting South African men. One in four cases are genetic, and may be detected very early with DNA tests
The average human being absorbs approximately 1½ litres of fluid each day that is composed of bile, digestive juices and ingested food
The food you eat can actually take up to five days to pass right through your digestive system
If the nerves and muscles in your colon are not working accordingly, and cause a delay in taking a dump, too much fluid can be extracted from chyme, in result causing constipation
Your colon contains harmless bacteria that assist in consuming the digestive enzymes that are used to break down food when it passed through your stomach and small intestine. Without these bacteria, if you had to go to the loo, the enzymes would literally eat through your O-ring and the surrounding area as it is passed out of your body
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