bowels
Deep digestive tract
Bowels are the intestines—the long tube in the abdomen where digestion completes and waste forms.
The word typically appears in plural: bowel movement is the exception.
Figuratively, bowels means the innermost depths of something: the bowels of the earth, the bowels of the ship.
This sense draws on the old association of intestines with the seat of emotions, as in the archaic bowels of compassion.
Coiled digestive organs
- colonLarge intestine section
- rectumTerminal intestinal chamber
- gutDigestive tract, or instinct
- entrailsInternal digestive organs
innards · viscera · duodenum · ileum · jejunum · appendix · abdomen · peritoneum
Lowest or innermost regions
- earthSoil or electrical grounding
- underworldRealm of the departed
- abyssImmeasurably profound depth
- netherLower or underground
subterranean · cavernous · innermost · deep · recesses · belly · core · pit
Kept out of sight
- concealedMade invisible deliberately
- buriedPlaced beneath earth
- shroudedCovered and hidden
- innermostMost deeply internal
private · secret · mysterious · obscure · veiled · depths · recesses · unknown
Involuntary digestive muscle waves
- absorptionProcess of taking in
- digestionBodily food breakdown
- fecesSolid digestive waste
- excretionRemoval of metabolic waste
defecation · chyme · flora · microbiome · bacteria · gastrointestinal · enteric · motility
Concern for others' distress
- mercyCompassion toward offenders
- pitySympathy for misfortune
- tendernessGentle, caring quality
- visceralArising from deep instinct
anguish · wrenching · churning · knotted · sinking · dread · anxiety · fear
Bloody intestinal infection
- choleraBacterial disease causing fatal dehydration
- colitisInflamed large intestine
- enteritisSmall intestine inflammation
- celiacPertaining to the abdomen
flatulence · constipation · diarrhea · irritable · Crohn's · diverticulitis · obstruction · incontinence
intestines
Coiled digestive organs
entrails · innards · viscera · duodenum · ileum · jejunum · appendix · abdomen · peritoneum · mesentery
depths
Lowest or innermost regions
- earthSoil or electrical grounding
- underworldRealm of the departed
- abyssImmeasurably profound depth
nether · subterranean · cavernous · innermost · deep · recesses · belly · core · pit · interior
hidden
Kept out of sight
innermost · private · secret · mysterious · obscure · veiled · depths · recesses · unknown
peristalsis
Involuntary digestive muscle waves
- absorptionProcess of taking in
- digestionBodily food breakdown
- fecesSolid digestive waste
excretion · defecation · chyme · flora · microbiome · bacteria · gastrointestinal · enteric · motility · regularity
compassion
Concern for others' distress
- mercyCompassion toward offenders
- pitySympathy for misfortune
- tendernessGentle, caring quality
visceral · anguish · wrenching · churning · knotted · sinking · dread · anxiety · fear · intuition
dysentery
Bloody intestinal infection
- choleraBacterial disease causing fatal dehydration
- colitisInflamed large intestine
- enteritisSmall intestine inflammation
celiac · flatulence · constipation · diarrhea · irritable · Crohn's · diverticulitis · obstruction · incontinence · peritonitis
- innardsviscera, entrails, innards, insides, guts
- gut anatomyintestine, intestines, gut, small intestine, large intestine
- bodily needsbreathing, oxygen, food, water, sleep
- plural-only wordsscissors, pants, trousers, jeans, shorts
- inner workingsguts, core, kernel, wiring, circuitry
- offaloffal, variety meats, organs, kidney, liver
bowelsexterior
Outer portion
skin · surface · epidermis · outer layer · extremities
bowelssurface
Outermost boundary layer
exterior · outer reaches · periphery · outer layer · edge
- bowel movementFecal discharge from body
- bowel cancersMalignant intestinal tract tumors
- bowel preparationPre-procedural intestinal emptying
- irritable bowel syndromeFunctional gastrointestinal disorder
- bowel controlVoluntary defecation regulation
- bowel crampsPainful intestinal muscle contractions
bowel, disembowel, disemboweled, disemboweling, disembowelled, disembowelling