Directly inside the mouth of snakes is the buccal cavity. This
leads to the esophagus of the snake. In snakes, the esophagus is long and can
cover up to half the length of the body. The esophagus of snakes has more
internal folds than other reptiles, which allows for the swallowing of large,
whole prey. Peristaltic movement within the esophagus moves the food downward
towards the stomach. The stomach is a j-shaped organ in which most
of the digestion occurs in snakes. The cells of the stomach secrete digestive enzymes and gastric juices
that breakdown proteins. The food then passes through the pyloric valve and
into the small intestines.
The small intestines is a long narrow coiled
tube where absorbance of nutrients takes place. The small intestines is divided
into three regions: the duodenum, the ileum, and jejunum. The liver, which
primarily functions in excreting nitrogenous wastes, storing nutrients, and
producing bile, excretes digestive enzymes into the duodenum of the small
intestines. Also, the pancreas, which produces insulin and glycogen as well, produces digestive
enzymes such as lipases, proteases and carbohydrases and secretes them into the
duodenum.
At the junction of the small intestines and
large intestines is the caecum. The large intestines is the least muscular and
most thin-walled structure of the snake digestive system. It passes into the
cloacae chamber. This chamber is divided into a copradaeum for receiving feces
and a urodaeum for urine and products of the genital organs. The cloaca plays
an important role in the reabsorption of water.
The rate of digestion is dependent of body
temperature because they are cold-blooded animals.
leads to the esophagus of the snake. In snakes, the esophagus is long and can
cover up to half the length of the body. The esophagus of snakes has more
internal folds than other reptiles, which allows for the swallowing of large,
whole prey. Peristaltic movement within the esophagus moves the food downward
towards the stomach. The stomach is a j-shaped organ in which most
of the digestion occurs in snakes. The cells of the stomach secrete digestive enzymes and gastric juices
that breakdown proteins. The food then passes through the pyloric valve and
into the small intestines.
The small intestines is a long narrow coiled
tube where absorbance of nutrients takes place. The small intestines is divided
into three regions: the duodenum, the ileum, and jejunum. The liver, which
primarily functions in excreting nitrogenous wastes, storing nutrients, and
producing bile, excretes digestive enzymes into the duodenum of the small
intestines. Also, the pancreas, which produces insulin and glycogen as well, produces digestive
enzymes such as lipases, proteases and carbohydrases and secretes them into the
duodenum.
At the junction of the small intestines and
large intestines is the caecum. The large intestines is the least muscular and
most thin-walled structure of the snake digestive system. It passes into the
cloacae chamber. This chamber is divided into a copradaeum for receiving feces
and a urodaeum for urine and products of the genital organs. The cloaca plays
an important role in the reabsorption of water.
The rate of digestion is dependent of body
temperature because they are cold-blooded animals.