![]() Peristalsis involves muscular contractions of the smooth muscle tissue in the walls of organs of the digestive system. Thereafter, chyme (semi liquid mass of partially digested food) moves along the digestive tract through the process of peristalsis. Stomach acid and other digestive fluid or enzymes facilitate the breakdown of food. Enzymes secreted by the gastric glands present in the walls of the stomach facilitate the breakdown of food. It performs the function of storing food. It pushes the food into the stomach, wherein starts the process of breakdown of food into a simpler form.Īt the end of the esophagus lies a muscular sac called stomach. It connects the mouth to the stomach, and acts as a passageway for food. As in case of humans, an esophagus is a small tube that is located in the anterior section of the digestive tract. Pharynx and EsophagusĪfter the food is moistened by the saliva, it moves from the mouth into the pharynx. It must be noted that some frogs don’t have tongues, and they catch their prey and place it in their mouth through their front limbs or legs. Saliva helps in the conversion of starch to sugar. In the buccal cavity, the tongue mixes the ingested food with saliva, which is secreted by the salivary glands. This helps to propel the food towards the esophagus. While doing so, they blink or close their eyes, pushing them down through openings in the skull. This process is referred to as deglutition. Their sticky tongue prevents the prey from fleeing. They use their maxillary teeth (located in the upper jaw) for holding on to the prey. They have two sets of teeth in the buccal cavity. Frogs don’t have strong teeth like humans. The tip of the tongue is folded backwards. The digestive process of frogs starts with ingestion, which involves catching their prey (flies, spiders, worms, slugs, other insects, and smaller animals that can fit into their mouth) with their sticky, cleft or bilobed tongue, and swallowing it. To get a better understanding of the location of the organs and functions of the digestive system, a labeled diagram of the digestive system of frogs has been provided below. These nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream, and utilized by the cells and tissues of the body for carrying out the vital body processes. These organs work in tandem to digest or break down the ingested food into smaller molecules or nutrients, which are easier to absorb and assimilate. Accessory organs and glands such as the tongue, teeth, salivary glands, gastric glands, pancreas, liver, and gallbladder perform functions that are essential for the process of digestion. Like humans, the digestive system of frogs consists of the digestive tract, which in turn comprises organs such as the mouth, pharynx, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, and cloaca. Their head contains the brain, mouth, eyes, ears, and nose. Referred to as coelom, this body cavity houses all the internal organs. Frogs have a single body cavity in the trunk. ![]() The anatomy of frogs has been of interest to humans due to the striking similarities in the organ systems of frogs and humans. The characteristic features of these amphibians include short bodies, the absence of tail, long hind legs that allow them to leap, webbed fingers and toes, and protruding eyes. The term Anura means ‘without tail’, and this taxonomic group comprises frogs and toads. This helps them push food down the throat.įrogs belong to Amphibia class and subphylum Vertebrata, which means that they are a class of vertebrates that live on land, but breed in water. After catching their prey, frogs close their eyes and retract them through the holes in their skull.
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