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Koalas live in eucalyptus trees and eat only a few types of gum leaves from which they get all nutrients and water requirements. Eucalyptus leaves are tough, toxic and low in nutrition, but the koala has developed a stomach which is capable of removing the toxins from where they are filtered out by the liver. These poisons are then passed out with bile and urine.
The caecum completes the process by changing the eucalyptus leaves into digestible nutrients. The caecum is similar to the human appendix, and is about 2 metres long. In the caecum, microorganisms process the tough, fibrous parts of the leaves which can remain in the caecum for up to 100 hours.
Wiki User
∙ 12y ago
Wiki User
∙ 13y agoThe koala has a uniquely adapted digestive system which is capable of detoxifying eucalyptus leaves, filtering them out by the liver, and extracting as much energy as possible from the fibrous leaves. The caecum completes the process by changing the eucalyptus leaves into digestible nutrients. The caecum is similar to the human appendix, but much longer - around 2 metres in length. The bacteria in the caecum is what breaks down the fibre into a substance which is more readily absorbed by the koala.
Koalas have a very slow metabolic rate which enables the food to stay in the gut for longer, in order to maximise the amount of energy the koala gets from it.
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Which of these is part of the digestive tract or gut?
small intestine A+ users
How many Body parts with 3 letters that you only have 1 of?
Gut - the term used for the entire digestive tract.
What is a processing gut?
they contain regions of the digestive tract specializedfor particular functions. An earthworm gut has a region for storing soil, a region for grinding soil (gizzard), and another region for absorbing nutrients.
What is another name for the alimentary canal?
http://content.answers.com/main/content/img/oxford/Oxford_Food_Fitness/0198631472.alimentary-canal.1.jpg
Describe the two important roles of gut movements?
Gut movement is also known as peristalsis which, quite literally means the wavelike muscle contractions of the digestive tract. Peristalsis occurs for two main reasons: 1) To move the food along throughout the digestive tract so as to move it closer and closer to your anus for excretion. 2) To make sure the nutrients are being absorbed from the food as well as exposing it to the digestive juices secreted from your digestive system so that it may be entirely digested.
Do the worms have digestive system?
No, worms do not have a stomach--they do have a crop and a gizzard, as part of the digestive tract. The mouth of the worm connects directly to this tract, which runs the entire length of it's body.
What is the name of the wave like constraction that propel food along the gut?
Peristalsis is the process by which smooth muscle moves a mass of food (called the food bolus) through the digestive system. There is circular smooth muscle and longitudinal smooth muscle in the digestive tract. Contraction of circluar smooth muscle keeps the food bolus from moving "backward" along the digestive tract by decreasing the diameter of the tract behind the bolus. Contraction of the longitudinal muscle in the digestive tract propels the food bolus "forward" in the digestive tract.
Could food move through the digestive tract if you were standing on your head?
Yes, peristalsis (rhythmic longitudinal and circular contractions of the gut smooth muscle wall) is not due to gravity
Roundworms have muscle tissue and a gut with one opening?
Roundworms are nematodes. They have muscles to help them move. They actually have two openings. They have a mouth, complete digestive tract, and anus for excreting waste.
What bacteria lives in the intestines of humans?
The human intestines are filled with what is known as gut flora. Gut flora is microbia found in the digestive tract that consists of Bacteroides, Clostridium, Fusobacterium, Eubacterium, Ruminococcus, Peptococcus, Peptostreptococcus, and Bifidobacterium.
What does the Medical abbreviation GUT mean?
Genitourinary tract
Is an esophagus used also for breathing?
No, the esophagus is the tract the leads to the gut. The trachea is the tract used for breathing
