Answer: The correct answer for the fill in the blank is - Breaks down food to a thin, watery mixture and absorbs dissolved food with hundreds of villi.
Small intestine is an organ of the digestive system that helps in the final digestion of food that is coming from stomach. It also helps in the absorption of nutrients through villi ( fingerlike projections that are specialized so as to absorb nutrients).
The first part of small intestine receives digestive juices from accessory organs like gallbladder, pancreas, and liver that help in breaking down of food to thin watery mixture that is final digestion of food takes place.
