​INTESTINE (Lat. intestinus, internal, usually in neuter plural intestina, from intus, within), in anatomy, the lower part of the ​alimentary canal; in man and mammals divided into the smaller intestine, from the pylorus to the iliocaecal valve, and the larger, reaching from the caecum and colon to the end of the rectum. The word is frequently applied to the whole of the alimentary canal in invertebrates. (See Alimentary Canal.)