Question

How does bile get to the small intestine? How do the enzymes produced by the pancreas get to the small intestine?

Answer 1

Bile reaches the small intestine through the common bile duct; pancreatic enzymes reach the small intestine through the hepatopancreatic duct (a linking of the pancreatic and bile ducts).

Explanation:

Bile is produced in the liver and stored in the gallbladder. When required for digestion, bile flows from the liver via the left and right hepatic ducts which combine to form the hepatic duct and from the cystic duct (from the gall bladder) which together form the common bile duct that enters the small intestine through the sphincter of Oddi , a ring-shaped muscle that controls the flow of bile.

The pancreatic enzymes are drained by the pancreatic duct which meets the common bile duct to form the hepatopancreatic duct also called the Ampulla of Vater. This common duct drains into the small intestine through the sphincter of Oddi at a place called the papilla of Vater on the small intestine.