Animal Nutrition Vocabulary

Flashcards covering key vocabulary terms from the Animal Nutrition lecture.

Suspension Feeders

Organisms that strain small food particles from water.

Substrate Feeders

Organisms that live in or on their food source.

Bulk Feeders

Organisms that eat relatively large pieces of food.

Fluid Feeders

Organisms that suck nutrient-rich fluid from a living host.

Ingestion

The act of eating or feeding.

Digestion

The process of breaking down food into small molecules.

Absorption

The uptake of nutrients by body cells.

Elimination

The passage of undigested material out of the body.

Incomplete Digestive Tract

A digestive tract with a single opening.

Complete Digestive Tract

A digestive tract with two openings: a mouth and an anus.

Masticate

The act of chewing food.

Bolus

A mass of chewed food ready to be swallowed.

Peristalsis

Rhythmic contractions of muscles in the wall of the alimentary canal that push food along.

Duodenum

The first 10 inches of the small intestine, where most digestion occurs.

Villi

Finger-like projections in the small intestine that increase the surface area for absorption.

Microvilli

Microscopic projections on the surface of epithelial cells in the small intestine that increase the surface area for absorption.

Cecum

A small, dead-end pouch connected to the junction of the small and large intestines.

Appendix

A small, finger-like extension of the cecum that has no known function.