Step 1: Picture the end of the gut tube. After the rectum, the short muscular passage that ends at the anus is the anal canal, running down and back through the pelvic floor.
Step 2: Fix the standard figure. Anatomy texts quote its length as 3.8 cm. Converting to millimetres gives about 38 mm.
Step 3: Map this value onto the choices. 38 mm sits comfortably inside the 35 to 40 mm band, while 10 to 15, 15 to 20, and 25 to 30 mm all fall short of the true length.
Step 4: Hence the anal canal measures 35 to 40 mm.
\[\boxed{\text{35 - 40 mm (about 3.8 cm)}}\]