Digestive Systems

Animals use the organs of their digestive systems to extract important nutrients from food they consume, which can later be absorbed.

Animals can be carnivores, herbivores, or omnivores in their eating strategies.

Invertebrate digestive systems include a gastrovascular cavity with one opening or an alimentary canal with a true mouth and anus.

Vertebrates may have a single stomach, several stomach chambers, or accessory organs that help to break down ingested food.

Animal digestion begins in the mouth, then moves through the pharynx, into the esophagus, and then into the stomach and small intestine.

Nutrients are absorbed in the small intestine and waste is prepared for elimination in the large intestine.