CHAPTER X 

 ORGANS AND PROCESSES OF DIGESTION 



THE organs of digestion are adapted to the work of dis 

 solving the foods by both their structure and arrangement. 

 Most of them consist either of tubes or cavities and these 

 are so connected, one with the other, as to form a contin- 

 uous passageway entirely through the body. This pas- 

 sageway is known as 



The Alimentary Canal. The alimentary canal has a 

 length of about thirty feet and, while it begins at the 

 mouth, all but about eighteen inches of it is found in the 

 abdominal cavity. On account of its length it lies for 

 the most part in coils, the two largest ones being known 

 as the small irltestine and the large intestine. Connected 

 with the alimentary canal are the glands that supply the 

 liquids for acting on the food. The divisions of the canal 

 and most of the glands that empty liquids into it are shown 

 in Fig. 63 and named in the table below: 



138 



