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Anatomy & Physiology · Chapter 23

Peristalsis & Segmentation

The gut wall's smooth muscle moves food two ways: peristalsis pushes it along, and segmentation mixes it in place. Switch between them and watch.

Peristalsis

Gut motilitymove it or mix it
📷 Reference image
A real labeled figure to compare with the interactive above.
Peristalsis & Segmentation reference figure
Peristalsis & Segmentation — OpenStax, CC BY 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)