Digestive System of Frog The digestive system is an organ system, which is concerned with ingestion of food, digestion of ingested food, absorption of digested food and finally removable of undigested products in the form of faeces. The digestive system of frog consists of alimentary canal and digestive glands, A. Alimentary canal Alimentary canal or digestive tract is long and coiled tube of varying diameter, extending from mouth to cloacal aperture. Alimentary canal is suspended in the body cavity with the help of mesentery. The alimentary canal of frog consists of following parts 1. Mouth 2. Bucco-pharyngeal Cavity 3. Oesophagus 4, Small intestine 5. Large intestine or Rectum 6. Cloaca Fig.Frog. Bucco-pharyngeal cavity of male frog,1, Mouth: Mouth is a semicircular, wide, anterior most opening of alimentary canal located just below the snout, Bony jaws and two immovable lips cover it. It ean move up and down in a vertical plane to open and close the mouth. It helps in ingestion of food. 2. Bucco-pharyngeal cavity: Mouth opens in to a wide spacious chamber called bucco- pharyngeal cavity. There is no clear demarcation between buccal cavity and pharynx. Therefore, both are collectively termed as bueco-pharyngeal cavity. Its ciliated columnar epithelial lining contains mucous glands, which secrete mucus for lubricating food. There are no salivary glands in frog. It lies between immovable upper jaw and movable lower jaw. Structures of bucco-pharyngeal cavi a, Fossae: These are three small pits situated at the anterior margin of upper jaw. They remain tightly fitted with prelingual tubercles during closing of mouth. b. Internal nares: They are a pair of openings of nasal chamber into the buccal cavity. They help in breathing c, Teeth: The lower jaw lacks teeth, but small conical and backwardly pointed teeth occur in a row on either side on the premaxillae and maxillae bones of the upper jaw called maxillary teeth. Besides maxillary teeth two small bones in the roof of mouth, called vomers, also bear two groups of vomerine teeth. The teeth are not meant for chewing; they simply hold the prey and prevent it from slipping out. Teeth of frog are homodont (similar in shape and size), acrodont( tecth are weakly attached to the jaw bone) and polyphyodont( old teeth are replaced by new ones many times). Structure of teeth: Each tooth consists of following two parts. Y Base: Each tooth attached to the jaw one by a broad base made of a bone-like substance. Y Crown: The free part or crown of tooth is made of a hard ivory-like substance, the dentine. The crown is curved at tip and directed backward. LSS. of tooth: The L.S. of tooth exhibits following structures. Y Enamel: The hardest, resistant and glistening substance called enamel covers tip of the crown. It makes the bone strong. 2 Fig. Frog. LS. of @ tooth.Y Dentin: It is the major middle part of tooth. It is composed of bone like substance, which is traversed by numerous fine canals or canaliculi. Y Pulp cavity: Tooth contains a central pulp cavity open at the side and filled with a soft nourishing pulp containing connective tissue, blood vessels, nerve and odontoblast cells that. produce new material for the growth of tooth Function of teeth: The teeth are not meant for chewing; they simply hold the prey and prevent it from slipping out. 4d. Tongue: On the floor of mouth, cavity lies a large, muscular sticky protrusible tongue. Its anterior end is attached to the inner border of lower jaw. Its posterior end is free and bifid. ¢. Internal nostrils: The roof of buccal cavity contains’ anteriorly, just in front of vomerine teeth, a pair of small openings of intemal nares, by which the nasal cavities open into buccal cavity. These aid in respiration. £. Bulgings of eyeballs: Behind the vomerine teeth, roof of buccal cavity shows two large oval and somewhat pale areas, the bulging of eyeballs. While swallowing food, frog depresses the eyes causing the orbits to bulge inwards and push the food towards the pharynx. g- Glottis: A median elevation on the floor carries a longitudinal slit-like aperture, the glottis, leading into the laryngotracheal chamber. esophagus h. Opening of Eustachian tube: In the roof on either lateral side is a wide Eustachian aperture, which opens into the middle ear. Left abe Stomach i, Gullet: Pharynx abruptly tapers behind to lead into oesophagus through a wide opening, the gullet. j. Opening of vocal sacs: In male frog, on the floor of pharynx on either side near the angle of two jaws, is present the small opening of a vocal sac. As already mentioned the vocal sacs act as resonators during croaking. 3. Oesophagus: Oesophagus is a short, wide, muscular and highly distensible _— Close Urinary bladder — cloaca Fig.: Alimentary Canal of frogtube. Its mucous epithelial lining is folded longitudinally and contains some mucous glands. Longitudinal foldings of the oesophagus allow its expansion during the passage of food into stomach, The glandular lining of oesophagus secretes an alkaline digestive fluid. In the peritoneal cavity, oesophagus enlarges posteriorly to merge imperceptibly with stomach 4. Stomach: Stomach lies on the left side in the body cavity, attached to the dorsal body wall by a mesentery called mesogaster. It is a large (4 cm long), broad and slightly curved bag or tube with thick ' muscular walls. Its large broader anterior part is called cardiac stomach, while the short narrower posterior part, the pyloric stomach. The inner surface of stomach has several prominent longitudinal folds, which allow its distension when food is received. Its mucous epithelium contains multicellular gastric glands secreting the enzyme pepsinogen, and unicellular oxyntic glands, secreting hydrochloric acid. The posterior or pyloric end of stomach is slightly constricted and its opening into small intestine is guarded by a circular ring-like sphincter muscle, called pyloric sphincter. Stomach serves for storage and digestion of food 5. Small intestine: Small intestine is a long, coiled and narrow tube, about 30 em long, and attached mid-dorsally to bodywall by mesenteries. It is made up of two parts; a small anterior duodenum, and a much longer posterior ileum, The mucosal lining of the small intestine consists, of two types of cells besides intestinal glands, large goblet cell containing oval vacuoles and granular substances which possibly produces mucous, a, Duodenum: It runs ahead parallel to stomach forming an U. It receives a common hepato- pancreatic duct from liver and pancreas bringing bile and pancreatic juice. The intemal mucous lining forms low transverse folds. b. Meum: It is the longest part of alimentary canal and makes several loops before enlarging posteriorly to join rectum. The internal mucous lining forms many longitudinal folds, but there are no true villi and definite glands and crypts as in higher vertebrates. Digestion of food and absorption of digested food occur in the small intestine. 6, Large intestine or rectum: It is a short, wide tube, about 4 em long, running straight behind to open into cloaca by anus guarded by an anal sphincter. Its inner lining forms numerous low longitudinal folds. Its function is the re-absorption of water and the preparation and storage of facces. 7. Cloaca: It is the small terminal sac like part in to which anus and urino-genital aperture open. Cloaca opens to the exterior through vent or cloacal aperture, lying at the posterior end of the trunk.