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Functions of digestive system

1) Digestion of feedstuffs
2) Osmoregulation
3) Secretion of hormones involved in regulation of digestion, metabolism and other bodily
functions

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

Regions and components of the fish

digestive system Mouth, oral cavity and pharynx
 Fish generally lack a region analogous to the large intestine of other  responsible for recognizing, acquiring and the initial processing of food items
vertebrates and digested food items enter a short rectum before they are voided
through the vent (anus)  first phase of digestion is the ingestion of food into the mouth

 Organs associated with the alimentary canal that provide secretions and are
critical for normal functions include the liver, associated gall bladder and the
pancreas
 mouth is generally located at the tip of the rostrum of species that consume
food items present in the water column (e.g. salmonids), whereas the mouth of
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

Mouth, oral cavity and pharynx

Most fish have teeth but this is not universal
Homodont dentition- all of the teeth are of
the same form but maybe different sizes
Heterodont dentition- presence of different
forms of teeth

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 Fish are able to replace lots teeth with the
replacements located under and moving up
into position when needed
 Jaws of shark
 the teeth of fish are covered by a
substance known as enameloid, which
differs from the enamel covering the teeth of
higher vertebrates by being innervated
Routinely shed or lost during eating and
are rapidly replaced
Esophagus
 considered by many to be the first region of the alimentary canal
 functions as a conduit leading to the stomach and remainder of the alimentary canal
 short and is characterized by the presence of longitudinal folds that allow for expansion to
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
secretory stomach (e.g. carp)
In some species a sphincter separates the esophagus from the stomach

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
 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
Intestine
 the principal site of
digestion
Highly variable
corresponding with wide
diversity of feeding habits and
functional demands
 the most visible difference
among fish is the length of the
intestine (from the pyloric
sphincter to the anus)
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Stomach
Stomach
Intestine
 Carnivores- the length of the
intestine can be as short as
only 20% of the body length
 Herbivores- intestine length
over 20 times the length of
the body
 as the length increases, the
intestine changes directions
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
 Various combinations of the four strategies to increase
digestive surface area can be seen in fish
 Salmonids have pyloric ceca and a thick mucosa with
complex architecture
 Sturgeons use a combination of a thick mucosa along
with fused ceca and a spiral valve
Intestine
 Food items that enter the intestines are known as
chyme
 Mixed with aqueous secretions from the intestine itself
and from other organs
 Secretions are essential for hydrolysis of food items and
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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Intestine Accessory organs

 liver
 pancreas
 gall bladder

Liver
 large multilobed organ that is positioned at the level of the stomach
 considered to be the largest organ and gland in the body
 in most species of fish there are two distinct liver (hepatic) lobes
 size and color of liver are also variable
Liver
 another portion of the hepatic tissue is glandular and is involved with the production of bile
 after the bile is produced it is collected in small ducts called bile canniculi and drain into a gall
bladder
 with appropriate stimulation, the gall bladder contracts and the bile is forced through the bile
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