FOOD AND DIGESTION 



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II. DIGESTION 



I. Structure of Alimentary Canal 



The anatomy and histology of the alimentary tract must be 

 studied practically. We shall here merely give such an out- 

 line of the various structures as will assist in the comprehen- 

 sion of their physiology. 



The Alimentary Canal (tig. 149) may be divided into the 



FIG. 148. Mesial Section through the Head of a Horse, to show the long soft 

 palate, /, lying against the front of the epiglottis, i c, the tongue ; I, the 

 arytenoids. (ELLENBERGER.) 



mouth, the oesophagus or gullet, the stomach, the small and 

 large intestines, and three sets of supplementary structures 

 the salivary glands, the liver, and the pancreas. 



The Mouth, provided with its teeth, and surrounded by its 

 mobile muscular wall, with the muscular tongue lying in its 

 floor, is the part of the canal in which the food is broken up 

 and prepared for digestion. In the horse the lips are long 

 and prehensile, and are essential for the taking of food. 

 Into the mouth three pairs of compound glands the Salivary 



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