 Dear students, in this topic, we shall discuss the Midgard which comprises of the small intestine. Small intestine is the major site for the chemical digestion and absorption of the digested food products. In intestine, digestion takes place in alkaline medium in comparison to the acidic medium present in the stomach. Because food has to enter from the stomach, which is acidic and when it enters the small intestine, alkaline medium is digested. The small intestine is a long portion of the elemental canal. It is divided into three distinct parts. First is called the duodenum. Second is the jijunum and third part is the ileum. Duodenum is the first shorter section of small intestine. In humans, it is about 25 centimeters long. The duodenum is to receive food from the stomach through the pyloric sphincter. This duodenum also secretes mucus and enzymes. In addition, it receives bile salts from gallbladder and pancreatic juice from the pancreas. There are bile salts from gallbladder which assist in the emulsification of fats. Pancreatic juice contains a lot of enzymes which aid in the digestion of all major components of food. The jijunum comes from the duodenum. The jijunum is a longer part of the small intestine. In humans, the length of the jijunum is about 2.5 meters. It secretes many enzymes for digestion. It is also involved in the absorption of some products of digestion. The ileum is the longest part of small intestine which is about 3.5 meters long in humans. It primarily absorbs nutrients which are digested in the duodenum and jijunum part. It also secretes some enzymes to complete the process of digestion. In this way, digestion is completed in the ileum. In addition to that, the absorption of nutrients is also completed in the ileum. Dear students, the length of human small intestine is about 6 meters. The length of small intestine varies in different animals. Overall, the carnivores of small intestine are smaller compared to herbivores and are comparatively simpler. Whereas herbivores of small intestine are usually longer and more complex. The shorter lengths of carnivores of small intestine show that carnivores are different. So, digestion of meat takes less time compared to the digestion of vegetation. A classic example of this difference in the lengths of small intestine of carnivores and herbivores is seen in frog. The large length of frog is carnivorous. The length of small intestine is comparatively longer as compared to adult frog which is carnivore. Frog's tadpole is herbivore and its length of small intestine is more. Compared to that, the length of carnivorous adult frog's small intestine is less. Dear students, small intestine also contains large number of bacteria, protozoans and fungi which contribute enzymatically to digestion. These symbiotic microorganisms in the small intestine also synthesize many essential vitamins.