Caption

Intestines. Coloured computed tomography (CT) scans of three axial sections through the body showing healthy intestines (yellow). A vertebra (spine bone, purple) is seen at the bottom of each scan. The intestines are responsible for the digestion of food. The small intestine leads from the stomach, and is where most of the nutrients are taken up. The remaining digested matter then passes to the large intestine, where water is absorbed. CT scanning uses a computer to build up slice images through the body from several individual X-ray scans. It is an important diagnostic tool.