alimentary canal

(noun)

The organs of a human or a non-human animal through which food passes.

Related Terms

Examples of alimentary canal in the following topics:

  • Mouth

    • The mouth receives and mechanically breaks down food, produces saliva, and is the first portion of the alimentary canal.
    • While its primary function is to begin the process of mechanically and chemically digesting food, the mouth is also the beginning of the alimentary canal—a larger digestive tube.
    • The mouth is the first portion of the alimentary canal.
    • The cheeks have been omitted in the drawing and the lips pulled back for an unobstructed view of the teeth, tongue, jaw bones, uvula, and alimentary canal.

  • Amnion Development

    • Note: That some of the liquor amnii is swallowed by the fetus is proved by the fact that epidermal debris and hairs have been found among the contents of the fetal alimentary canal.

  • Processes and Functions of the Digestive System

    • The digestive system is comprised of the alimentary canal, or the digestive tract, and other accessory organs that play a part in digestion—such as the liver, the gallbladder, and the pancreas.
    • The alimentary canal and the GI tract are terms that are sometimes used interchangeably.
    • The alimentary canal is the long tube that runs from the mouth (where the food enters) to the anus (where indigestible waste leaves).
    • The organs in the alimentary canal include the mouth (the site of mastication), the esophagus, the stomach, the small and large intestines, the rectum, and the anus.

  • Development of Metabolism

    • The hindgut (or epigaster) is the posterior (caudal) part of the alimentary canal.

  • Supply of Blood and Nerves to Bone

    • Blood is supplied to mature compact bone through the Haversian canal.
    • Haversian canals are formed when individual lamellae form concentric rings around larger longitudinal canals (approx. 50 µm in diameter) within the bone tissue.
    • A Haversian canal generally contains one or two capillaries and nerve fibers.
    • Volkmann's canals are channels that assist with blood and nerve supply from the periosteum to the Haversian canal.
    • The Haversian canals surround blood vessels and nerve cells throughout the bone.

  • Impacted Cerumen

    • Earwax, or cerumen, is a yellowish waxy substance secreted in the ear canal which can affect hearing if produced excessively.
    • Earwax, also known by the medical term cerumen, is a yellowish waxy substance secreted in the ear canal of humans and other mammals.
    • Excessive earwax may impede the passage of sound in the ear canal, causing conductive hearing loss.
    • Cerumen is produced in the outer third of the cartilaginous portion of the human ear canal.
    • A curette method is more likely to be used by otolaryngologists when the ear canal is partially occluded and the material is not adhering to the skin of the ear canal.

  • Root Canal Therapy

    • This set of procedures is commonly referred to as a "root canal" .
    • This procedure is known as root canal therapy.
    • The alternatives to root canal therapy include no treatment, tooth extraction, or the 3Mix-MP procedure.
    • Recent studies indicate that substances commonly used to clean the root canal space incompletely sterilize the canal.
    • However, a properly restored tooth following root canal therapy yields long-term success rates near 97%.

  • Perineum

    • Ischioanal fossa, a fat-filled space at the lateral sides of the anal canal bounded laterally by obturator internus muscle, medially by pelvic diaphragm and the anal canal.
    • Pudendal canal, which contains internal pudendal artery and the pudendal nerve

  • Ventricles

    • This system is continuous with the central canal of the spinal cord.
    • The structures of the ventricular system are embryologically derived from the center of the neural tube (the neural canal).
    • As the future brain stem aspect of the primitive neural tube develops, the neural canal expands dorsally and laterally, creating the fourth ventricle.  
    • The cerebral aqueduct is formed from the part of the neural canal that does not expand and remains the same at the level of the midbrain superior to the fourth ventricle.
    • The fourth ventricle narrows at the obex, where the fourth ventricle narrows to become the central canal in the caudal medulla.

  • Orbits

    • To the rear of the orbit, the optic foramen opens into the optical canal through which the optic nerve and ophthalmic artery pass.
    • The lacrimal and ethmoid bones contribute to the medial wall of the orbit and also to the medial wall of the orbital canal.
    • Finally, the sphenoid bone forms the posterior wall of the orbit and also contributes to the formation of the optic canal.