# Python intestines **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 27, 2003, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/python-intestines/164609 "2003-03-27T20:58:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/df788c/32.png) [@Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ben)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/python-intestines/164609/1 "2003-03-27T20:58:58Z")
Are the intestines of large snakes coiled up like human intestines, or do they run straight down the body? ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/python-intestines/164609/2 "2003-03-27T21:17:26Z")
There is nothing embarrassing or nasty about the human body except for the intestines and bits of the bottom. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/python-intestines/164609/3 "2003-03-27T22:09:15Z")
That’s a wonderful sentiment, Ham, I appluad your mature response to such an issue. However, it didn’t really answer the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/python-intestines/164609/4 "2003-03-27T22:23:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by smiling bandit \* > \*\*That’s a wonderful sentiment, Ham, I appluad your mature response to such an issue. However, it didn’t really answer the OP. \*\* It’s a quote from Monty Python. Get it? Python? Intestines? The title of the thread? Sorry it wasn’t a “mature” enough joke. I’ll try never to joke in GQ again. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@Tom\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_P)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/python-intestines/164609/5 "2003-03-27T22:38:28Z")
The organs of snakes are much more elongated that those of other animals, so that they can fit inside a snake’s long body. They often have only one usable lung (the other is small and almost non-functional). The intestines (and other organs, such as the liver and stomach) are very long and not coiled up, and the stomach can expand so that the snake can eat large prey. After a little searching, I found [this](http://www2.worldbook.com/features/reptiles/html/il_2intSnakeOrgan.html), which is an image of a snake’s internal organs. ---
**Author:** ![Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/df788c/32.png) [@Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ben)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/python-intestines/164609/6 "2003-03-27T22:45:02Z")
Cool! Thanks, Tom P. Now I feel both educated and vindicated. (I _knew_ the pig wouldn’t be able to turn corners, but I did admit the possibility of a helical arrangement.) ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/python-intestines/164609/7 "2003-03-28T02:05:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ben \* > **I _knew_ the pig wouldn’t be able to turn corners, but I did admit the possibility of a helical arrangement.** Sig line! ---
**Author:** ![stockton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@stockton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stockton)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/python-intestines/164609/8 "2003-03-28T03:33:38Z")
Damn good link, **Tom P.**. Welcome to the boards. ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/python-intestines/164609/9 "2003-03-28T04:39:44Z")
Actually, the pig _does_ “turn corners,” so to speak. Not to kill a good sig line or anything, but the intestines of snakes are generally folded longitudinally, sort of like an old fire hose. You can sort of see this in **Tom P.**'s illustration, but the detail is somewhat obscured by the ribs there. It’s not as elaborately coiled as human intestines because snakes are strictly carnivorous, and so have a shorter digestive tract. Of course, by the time the pig has hit the small intestine, it has been somewhat digested already, and so doesn’t really have a problem navigating the system. **Hamlet:** Well, _I_ thought it was funny.