Asa result of intestinal disease, parts of the alimentary canal are sometime surgically removed.
Discuss the effect of this removal on lifestyle and digestive function (i) the stomach (ii) the colon.
(i) Removal of the stomach, which is the main organ for digestion of protein, leads to a change in the patient’s diet. It is the stomach where proteins are first broken down into polypeptides by pepsin in gastric juice before they can be acted on by pancreatic enzymes and intestinal enzymes. The patient must lower down the amount of protein in his diet. Animal meat especially red meat, which is rich in proteins must be avoided.
(ii) Removal of the colon, which is responsible for absorption of water from undigested food, result in loss of water (dehydration) in patient. The patient needs to drink plenty of fluids to replace water loss. In most case, where the whole colon is removed, a surgical procedure is done to attach the small intestine to the rectum to allow for recta elimination of liquid stools. A small pouch is created in the lower abdomen to collect the stool. The patient has to learn to regulate his bowel movements.