part_of part of part of contributes to morphology of intestine small intestine intestinum tenue Subdivision of digestive tract that connects the stomach to the large intestine and is where much of the digestion and absorption of food takes place (with the exception of ruminants). The mammalian small intestine is long and coiled and can be differentiated histologically into: duodenum, jejunem, ileum[WP,cjm,Kardong]. anterior intestine mid intestine small bowel small intestine subdivision of digestive tract digestive system element