152 The Alligator and Its Allies 



Fig. 34. Digestive System of A 



MiSSISSIPPIENSIS. 



bd, bile duct; 65, bile sac; c, cloaca; e, oeso- 

 phagus;/, larger or fundic region of stomach; 

 /;, hyoid apparatus; I. liver; />, smaller or 

 pyloric region of the stomach; pa, paiic;eas; 

 r, lectum; s, small intestine; /, tongue; Ir, 

 trachea, 



obliterated. in a 

 thirty-inch animal 

 the oesophagus is 

 about six inches long, 

 and opens suddenly, 

 but without any ap- 

 parent valve, into the 

 large chamber of the 

 stomach. The his- 

 tology of the oesoph- 

 agus and the other 

 regions of the diges- 

 tive tract will be de- 

 scribed later. 



The Stomach 



The stomach, as is 

 well known, is made 

 up of two distinct 

 parts; that on the 

 animal's left, into 

 which the oesophagus 

 opens, is many times 

 larger than the part 

 from which the small 

 intestine leads. The 

 larger or fundic re- 

 gion, Fig. 34, /, has, 

 as will be described, 

 very heavy muscular 



