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The gastrointestinal tract (GI tract, digestive tract, alimentary canal) is the tract or passageway of the digestive system that leads from the mouth to the anus. The GI tract contains all the major organs of the digestive system, in humans and other animals, including the esophagus , stomach , and intestines .
A monogastric digestive system works as soon as the food enters the mouth. Saliva moistens the food and begins the digestive process. (Note that horses have no (or negligible amounts of) amylase in their saliva).
The small intestine is the main site of nutrient absorption. The surface area of the digesta is greatly increased here because of the villi that are in the small intestine. This increased surface area allows for greater nutrient absorption. Microbes produced in the reticulorumen are also digested in the small intestine.
Gastroliths in some species are retained in the muscular gizzard and used to grind food in animals lacking suitable grinding teeth. In other species the rocks are ingested and pass through the digestive system and are frequently replaced. The grain size depends upon the size of the animal and the gastrolith's role in digestion.
Hindgut fermentation is a digestive process seen in monogastric herbivores (animals with a simple, single-chambered stomach). Cellulose is digested with the aid of symbiotic microbes including bacteria, archaea, and eukaryotes. [1] The microbial fermentation occurs in the digestive organs that follow the small intestine: the cecum and large ...
Long scapulae are present, whereas the clavicles are absent. Being ruminants , the stomach is composed of four chambers: the rumen (80%), the omasum , the reticulum , and the abomasum . The ciliates and bacteria of the rumen ferment the complex cellulose into simpler fatty acids , which are then absorbed through the rumen wall.
The rumen, also known as a paunch, is the largest stomach compartment in ruminants. [1] The rumen and the reticulum make up the reticulorumen in ruminant animals. [2]The diverse microbial communities in the rumen allows it to serve as the primary site for microbial fermentation of ingested feed, which is often fiber-rich roughage typically indigestible by mammalian digestive systems.
Gizzard of a chicken. The gizzard, also referred to as the ventriculus, gastric mill, and gigerium, is an organ found in the digestive tract of some animals, including archosaurs (birds and other dinosaurs, crocodiles, alligators, pterosaurs), earthworms, some gastropods, some fish, and some crustaceans.