Alimentary Canal

Alimentary Canal is the name given to the principal part of the digestive apparatus. It extends from the mouth to the anus, having, in man, an average length of about thirty feet—i.e. five or six times as long as the body. Passing through the head and chest, it includes the teeth, the organs of mastication; the salivary glands, the organs of insalivation; the tongue, pharynx, œsophagus or gullet, the organs of deglutition. In the abdomen and pelvis, there are the stomach, and small and large intestine. Intimately concerned in the process of digestion, there are numerous small glands situate in the lining membrane of the canal, besides such large ones as the salivary glands, the liver and pancreas, which pour their secretions into the interior of the canal by ducts opening upon its inner surface. The various portions of this canal are treated in separate articles; see especially DIGESTION.