DIGESTIVE SYSTEM

I. FUNCTIONS:
* Ingestion
* Digestion
* Absorption of food
* Elimination of undigested food
II. PARTS:
A. Digestive tubes- from mouth to anus
B. Digestive glands
C. Accessory parts
A. THE DIGESTIVE TRACT/TUBES
Starts from the oral cavity, pharynx (oropharyngeal
cavity in fishes), esophagus, stomach and small and large
intestines.
1. MOUTH – anterior opening of the tube and serves as
an entrance of food going to the digestive tract.
In agnathostomes the mouth is found at the apex of
the buccal funnel where the tongue projects.
In gnathostomes the mouth varies depending on the
size of the food being eaten.
In fishes it opens in the oro-pharyngeal cavity and
end at the esophagus.
In tetrapods it opens in the oral cavity and ends at the
pharynx
 In mammals the upper and lower border are marked
by lips and are covered with skin in the outside. The lips
and the cheeks are separated by the gums.
In birds and turtles the mouth are bounded by horny
beaks.
 2. ORAL/BUCCAL CAVITY- starts with
the mouth and ends in the pharynx bounded by the jaws
anteriorly and lateraly, palate superiorly, buccal floor and
tongue infiriorly.
a. TONGUE- movable organs located at the floor of
the oral cavity serves as a sense organ and for food
gathering.
In clyclostomes it bears horny teeth on the surface for
grasping.
 In fishes the tongue is crescenteric elevation on the
floor of the pharynx that can be moved in narrow limits.
In amphibians the primary tongue fuses with the
glandular field to form the definite tongue.
In reptiles like turtles and crocodiles tongue are not
protrusile and lies only on the floor of the oral cavity but
in snakes and lizards it can be extended and retracted and
also used for catching their prey.
In birds tongue has no muscles. It is a compounded
definite type of tongue.
In mammals tongue are well develop, movable,
fleshly and muscular except for whales. It contains minute
pointed elevation known as papillae that contains
receptors not for taste
 b. TEETH- accessory organs used for cutting
grinding and crushing of food.
CLASSIFICATION OF TEETH
1. Based on origin:
A. Epidermal teeth- are cornified projections seen in
cyclostomes ( lampreys ), amphibians, larvae, platypus
and sirenians.
 b. Dermal or true teeth- are made up of a core dentine
which is surmounted by a crown of enamel. When tooth is
fully formed root remains in the pulp the neck of the tooth
is seen beneath the gums found in the premaxillae,
maxillae and mandible.
TYPES OF DENTITION:
a. As to the size and shape of the teeth
1. homodont- teeth are similar in form and shape.
2. heterodont- teeth are different in shapes and sizes.
b. As to the number of sets of teeth
1. monophydont- with one set like in kangaroos,
chipmunks and hares.
2. diphyodont- with two sets of teeth like in humans.
3. polyphyodont- with numerous sets of teeth.
c. As to the attachment to the jaw
1. acrodont- attached to the outer surface or summit
of the jaw.
 2. pleurodont- maybe attached to the inner side of
the jaw. Like the baraccuda.
3. thecodont- occupy bony sockets or alveoli.
 In fishes few of them are toothless and the dentition when
present is either homodont, polyphydont and acrodont.
In amphibians teeth are usually situated in jaw bone but in
snakes and in lizards may occur in pterygoids and in palatines
and have either acrodont or pleurodont. Crocodiles are thecodont
dentition and turtles are toothless. Generally reptiles are
polyphydont.
In birds they are generally toothless but may have transitory
horny epithelial egg tooth necessary for breaking the shell of the
egg at the time of hatching.
In mammalsthey have definitive number of teeth per
species. Most mammals are diphyodont, thecodont, and
heterodont composed of incisors, canines, pre and molars. Types
of teeth found in mammals are tasks and incisors.
Shape of the molars and premolars vary according to the
food they eat.
1. secondont- molars of carnivores consist of sharp
cutting edges.
2. bunodont- seen in man has small tubercles.
 3. selenodont- have vertical crescented folds of
enamel. Typically seen in gazelle cammel.
 4. lophodont- seen in elephants that has transveres
ridges.
 c. PHARYNX- tube which is common for both respiratory
and for digestive system. In tunicates, amphioxus and minute
organisms serves as food catching device.
d. ESOPHAGUS- a destinsible muscular tube located
posterior to the glottis that connects the pharynx and
esophagus. The length varies depending on the length of the
neck.
In both fishes and amphibians the esophagus is very short
and lined with ciliated epithelium.
In reptiles the esophagus is long and has a longitudinal
folds for distention.
In birds esophagus is lined with horny papillae that is
shortly found in front of the sternum and widens into a large
sac known as the crop.
 In mammals the length of the esophagus depending
on the length of the neck.
e. STOMACH or VENTRICULUS- is a spindle
shape to sacciform enlargement with an enlargement that
provides enzymes and acid secreting glands and thick
muscular wall of smooth muscles.
In fishes it is straight, J or V shape and has no
distinction between the esophagus.
In amphibians the stomach is a straight tube.
In snakes and lizards has a spindle stomach
crocodiles are modified into a gizzard like muscular
region.
In birds it has 2 parts the ant. proventriculus and
ventriculus or gizzard that aids in the grinding of food.
 In mammals- the stomach is larger in herbivores
rather than carnivores. In herbivores it is divided into
rumen, reticulum, omasum and abomasum.
 f. INTESTINES- usually consist of two main parts the
small intestine and large intestine or colon. The length of
the intestines specially the small varies depending to the
eating habits of the animal, usually short in carnivores and
long in herbivores.
In cyclostomes the in intestines are usually straight.
In fishes the intestines are wide but rather straight.
In amphibians the small intestines are slightly coiled
and the large intestine is short and it opens in the cloaca.
In reptiles the small intestines are said to be coiled,
elongated and are fairly uniform in diameter. 1st vertebrae to
have colic cecum.
 In birds the small intestine is very long and straight
while the large intestine is short and also ends in the
cloaca.
In mammals the small intestine is divided into
duodenum, jejunum ileum while the large intestine is
divided into ascending, transverse, descending, sigmoid,
rectum and ends in an opening called the anus.
B. THE DIGESTIVE GLANDS
1. ORAL GLANDS- numerous multicellular glands seen
in the walls of the oral cavity.
2 Types of oral glands
1. Mucous secreting glands- secretes mucous
2. Serous secreting glands- secrete enzymes and
poison.
Oral glands of amphibians secretes adhesive
properties to the tongue.
In reptiles they secrete poisons for snakes seen in
upper labial glands.
Oral glands are present in all birds except for fish-
eating birds.
 In mammals oral glands arises due to the human
habit of chewing. They are also provided with small
mucous glands namely parotid, sublingual, submaxillary,
and infra-orbital.
2. LIVER- largest gland in the body responsible for the
secretion of bile, storage of glycogen and excess sugar,
production of urea and for the control of food and some
substances in the blood.
In fishes the liver is large, brownish and found
anteriorly in the body cavity.
In amphibian liver is large and are lobed.
In reptiles liver are lobed except in snakes. All
reptiles has gallbladder.
In birds liver is lobed, no gallbladder in many birds .
3. PANCREAS- refers to the 2nd largest digestive gland
located shortly behind the liver and lies in the loop between
the stomach and the duodenum. It has a structure named
ISLETS OF LANGERHAM which is considered to produce
the hormone called the insulin.
In cyclostomes and amphioxus they don’t have pancreas but
rather they have pancreatic tissues.
In fishes their pancreas are diffused that’s why it is almost
unrecognizable in many teleosts and dipnoi.
In amphibians like in frogs the pancreas is present that opens
directly to the duodenum and indirectly towards the bile duct.
In mammals it is well developed and it provides the ventral
duct that opens into the bile duct and the dorsal duct that
enters the duodenum.