The alimentary canal is the long, winding tube that runs through your body from your mouth to your anus, processing the food you eat. Think of it as a 30-foot pathway where your body breaks down a sandwich or an apple into tiny particles it can actually use.

The journey starts when you chew food in your mouth. From there, it travels down your esophagus (the tube in your throat), into your stomach (where acid breaks it down further), through your small intestine (where nutrients get absorbed into your bloodstream), and finally through your large intestine, which removes water and prepares waste to leave your body.

Each section of the alimentary canal has a specific job, like workers on an assembly line. Your stomach churns and mixes food with digestive juices. Your small intestine, despite its name, is actually the longest part, about 20 feet long, coiled up inside your abdomen. Scientists also call the alimentary canal the digestive tract or gastrointestinal tract.

Without this remarkable tube doing its work every day, your body couldn't extract energy from food or get the vitamins and minerals it needs to grow, think, and move.