Do you need to have a large intestine?

Answer 1

For your comfort, it is best for you to have both. Small intestine is what absorbes the nutrients and if that's gone, you won't get any nutrition and die. Large intestine is what absorbes the water so that you don't get diarrea. If that's gone, you're feces will mostly be liquid. Also if the colon is gone, the E. coli in the large intestine are gone with it. These bacteria that lives in your colon makes vitamin K which is needed to form a normal blood clot. Without it, and you'll be bleeding forever from a single cut.

Answer 2

No. If you suffer from Crohn's disease, (certainly 40yrs ago), the normal procedure was to remove portions of the large intestine when it got ulcerated and blocked. This led to people having colostomy/illeostomy bags and the like. They were left with little more than a small piece of intestine poking through the skin in the abdomen region and liquids coming out, (solids - "ish" for a colostomy) into a bag that is on the outside of the body.

That probably sounds horrible but, believe me, I'd rather have the stoma, (small piece of...etc), than be dead!

There are many websites that can answer these questions and show you how to cope if this happens to you. The, IA, (Illeostomy Association) has information and a wonderful network of people.

To put it simply though, you don't need a large intestine to live - but it's nice to have it.

K

Answer 3

Yes.