Vet Blog: Digestive System

The digestive system is made up of alimentary tract and accessory digestive organs. The purpose is to ingest, digest and to absorb food and to eliminate the undigested remains as feces. Besides that, it also provide the body with nutrient, water and electrolytes that are essential for health and growth.

Functional anatomy of GIT

I. Oral cavity (Mouth)
Teeth- cutting, reduce size of ingested food particles by grinding
Tongue- muscular organ, extremely mobile, taste buds- numerous papillae
Pharynx-common passage to air and food, proper directing of air to air passage and foo and liquid to esophagus
II. Stomach
Esophagus-Muscular tube
– from pharynx to stomach through thoracic cavity, diaphragm
-Constriction waves of muscular contractions (peristaltic movement)

Simple & compound stomach
III. Intestines
Small- Duodenum, jejenum, ileum
Large-cecum,colon, rectum
IV. Accessory organs
Salivary glands- I)Parotid ii)Sublingual III)Mandibular f(X)-buffering action in ruminants
-Digestion of carbohydrate by amylase evaporation and cooling in panting animals
Pancreas-both an endocrine gland producing several important hormones, including insulin, glucagon,brittanna, somatostatin, and pancreatic polypeptide, and a digestive organ, secreting pancreatic juice containing digestive enzymes that assist the absorption of nutrients and the digestion in the small intestine.
Liver-metabolic roles,detoxification,carbohydrate metabolism and storage of glycogen, produce bile