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Fish Digestive System 4) Defending the body against invasion by pathogens and other harmful components of the
environment
Regions and components of the fish Regions and components of the fish
digestive system digestive system
1) Mouth, oral cavity and pharynx the first region of the digestive system includes the mouth, oral cavity and pharynx
2) Esophagus after food is swallowed it enters the alimentary canal proper and proceeds via the esophagus
to the stomach followed by the intestine
3) Stomach
4) Intestine
5) Accessory organs
Organs associated with the alimentary canal that provide secretions and are mouth is generally located at the tip of the rostrum of species that consume
critical for normal functions include the liver, associated gall bladder and the food items present in the water column (e.g. salmonids), whereas the mouth of
pancreas species that are bottom feeders tend to be ventrally situated, such as seen in the
carp and sturgeons
the mouth includes skeletal features that constitute the jaw
not all fish have jaws (e.g. lamprey and hagfishes)
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Mouth, oral cavity and pharynx Mouth, oral cavity and pharynx
the mouth opens into the oral (buccal cavity) and this region extends back to
the pharynx and includes the tongue
although fish have tongues, they are not nearly developed and capable of
manipulating food items
food and water passes through the buccal cavity to the pharynx, with the
water directed over the gills
food passes into the esophagus
the pharynx can be considered as being part of the digestive and respiratory
systems
gills of some species have gill rakers for filtering the water to obtain food items
Mouth, oral cavity and pharynx Mouth, oral cavity and pharynx
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Esophagus
Fish are able to replace lots teeth with the considered by many to be the first region of the alimentary canal
replacements located under and moving up functions as a conduit leading to the stomach and remainder of the alimentary canal
into position when needed short and is characterized by the presence of longitudinal folds that allow for expansion to
Jaws of shark accommodate the passage of large food items
leads directly to the intestine in primitive fish (e.g. hagfish) and some modern fish that lack a
the teeth of fish are covered by a secretory stomach (e.g. carp)
substance known as enameloid, which
differs from the enamel covering the teeth of In some species a sphincter separates the esophagus from the stomach
higher vertebrates by being innervated
Routinely shed or lost during eating and
are rapidly replaced
Esophagus Esophagus
Stomach Stomach
not all fish possess a secretory (true) Three regions of stomach
stomach and in those species the
esophagus is directly connected to the
intestine 1) Cardiac region
a functional stomach is also lacking in 2) Fundic region
larvae of virtually all fish 3) Pyloric region
an expanded region of the esophagus
can serve to store food
the well developed muscle layers of the
Capacity of the stomach relative to the stomach physically disrupt the food and
body weight is related to the size of meals mix it with gastric secretions resulting in
that are consumed smaller particles or even a semi-liquid
paste
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Stomach Stomach
the food leaves the stomach and enters
the intestine through the pyloric sphincter
Pyloric sphincter- physically separates
the stomach from the intestine and
prevents the passage of food items
Stomach Stomach
Intestine Intestine
the principal site of Carnivores- the length of the
digestion intestine can be as short as
only 20% of the body length
Highly variable
corresponding with wide Herbivores- intestine length
diversity of feeding habits and over 20 times the length of
functional demands the body
the most visible difference as the length increases, the
among fish is the length of the intestine changes directions
intestine (from the pyloric
sphincter to the anus) Fish differ from other
vertebrates by lacking a
distinct colon or large
intestine
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Intestine
strategies to increase digestive surface area
1) Lengthen the intestine
2) Development of a thick mucosa with a very complex,
extensive folding
3) Development of diverticula that are evanginations of the
proximal intestine
- the diverticula which are called pyloric ceca, range in number
from one to thousands
4) Presence of an internal epithelial fold called a spiral valve
-Can twist several times and effectively increase the length of the
intestine
- Found in sharks and many other species
Intestine Intestine
Various combinations of the four strategies to increase Food items that enter the intestines are known as
digestive surface area can be seen in fish chyme
Salmonids have pyloric ceca and a thick mucosa with Mixed with aqueous secretions from the intestine itself
complex architecture and from other organs
Sturgeons use a combination of a thick mucosa along Secretions are essential for hydrolysis of food items and
with fused ceca and a spiral valve include digestive enzymes and other components that
enhance activities of the enzymes by modifying the
chemical environment
Bicarbonate from the pancreas neutralizes stomach
acids and increase luminal pH to enhance the activities
of enzymes from the pancreas and intestines
Intestine Intestine
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Liver Liver
large multilobed organ that is positioned at the level of the stomach another portion of the hepatic tissue is glandular and is involved with the production of bile
considered to be the largest organ and gland in the body after the bile is produced it is collected in small ducts called bile canniculi and drain into a gall
bladder
in most species of fish there are two distinct liver (hepatic) lobes
with appropriate stimulation, the gall bladder contracts and the bile is forced through the bile
size and color of liver are also variable duct and enters the intestine through a papilla usually located just distal to the pyloric sphincter
Metabolism
to filter the blood draining the intestine before it enters the general systemic circuit
filters poisons and other toxic materials from the blood
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Pancreas
exists as diffuse tissue in most species of fish
scattered throughout the peritoneal cavity
only in a relatively few can it be seen as a distinct organ (e.g. European eel)
consists of both exocrine and endocrine tissues
Exocrine pancreas- secretions of water, digestive enzymes, and bicarbonate and other ions
-Enzyme present include proteases (endoproteases trypsin, chymotrypsin, elastase,
exopeptidases, carboxypeptidases A and B), amylase, lipase and deoxy and ribonucleases
carnivorous fish synthesizes and secrtes less amylase than the pancreas of herbivorous and
omnivorous fish
Pancreas
endocrine tissue of the pancreas secretes at least four different types of hormones, with
insulin, glucagon, somatostatin and pancreatic polypepetide
feeding state
metabolic considerations
environmental conditions