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This is a very very basic question, and I am looking at it more from point of view of physics. The small intestine is a highly coiled structure, which means it has horizontal coils as well. I can understand the vertical downward movement of food (when the person is in standing position) due to gravity, but how come the food can move in horizontal direction?

Any insights will be highly appreciated.

Thanks

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    $\begingroup$ Food moves thanks to Peristalsis through whole gastrointestinal system $\endgroup$ – Mithoron Feb 28 '15 at 17:00
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    $\begingroup$ @Mithoron closely related (and the answer is the same), but not a dup--this question asks specifically about the small intestine, whereas the other asks about swallowing $\endgroup$ – Luigi Feb 28 '15 at 17:15
  • $\begingroup$ Food moved against gravity too, thanks to peristalsis. $\endgroup$ – One Face Feb 28 '15 at 17:36
  • $\begingroup$ @Luigi if another post has the same answer then this can be considered a duplicate. Note that duplicate doesn't mean a bad question; It just reduces redundancy of posts. $\endgroup$ – WYSIWYG Feb 28 '15 at 20:50