Chapter 24.6, Problem 3MQ

Summary Introduction

The gastrointestinal tract (GIT) consists of all the organs that are involved in the function of taking in food, digesting the food, and also expelling the waste material out of the body. The organs that make the GI system in humans are mouth, esophagus, stomach, intestine, and anus. While, in mice the major GI organs are mouth, stomach, cecum, and colon. Human microbiome studies involve the study and identification of all the microorganisms present in their gut and other organs. This study involves the cause and effect of gut microbiome to both the health and disease of an individual. These studies involve highly controlled animal system on which the studies can be conducted. Now a day, mouse has become the model animal system of choice to carry out gut microbiome studies because it shares similarities in physiology and anatomy with the human system.