DIGESTIVE SYSTEM OF

THE FROG
AND THE BUCCAL CAVITY
The digestive system of frog consists of organs, which are
concerned, with capturing of food (ingestion), absorption with
the help of certain enzymes, absorption of the digested food,
and finally removal of the waste food. Hence, digestive system
is divided into 3 headings.

I. ALIMENTARY CANAL
II. DIGESTIVE GLAND
III. PHYSIOLOGY OF DIGESTION
I. Alimentary canal - it is long,
coiled tube which starts from mouth
to anus (cloacal aperture).
• MOUTH (buccal cavity)
The mouth is wide transverse slit-like aperture
present on snout which is bounded by bony jaw
having immovable lips.
Frogs and toads are carnivores, which means that
they will eat meat. Small to medium sized frogs
eat insects such as flies, mosquitoes, moths
and dragonflies. Larger frogs will eat
larger insects like grasshoppers and
worms.

 Some large frogs will even eat small snakes,

mice, baby turtles, and even other smaller
frogs.
External nares or nostrils - Anterior
openings for the entry or exit of air

Esophagus - Tube that connects the mouth

and the stomach in a frog

Glottis - The opening from the mouth into

the respiratory system

Eustachian tube openings - Openings in

the mouth that lead to tubes that connect
to the middle ear to equalize air pressure

Vocal sac - In male frog on either side of

the tongue on the lower jaw there are two
pores called vocal sacs, which produce
croaking sound.
• TEETH
There are two types of teeth.
Maxillary teeth - they are found in upper jaw.They are polyphyodant (replaceable teeth),
acrodont because (directly attached to a bone), isodont (all teeth are alike) and
homodont (all teeth are similar in size).
Vomerine teeth - they are present on the side of roof buccopharyngeal cavity. They help
to capture prey and prevent the captured prey from slipping out.
 • TONGUE
It is thick, fleshy, and muscular
and bifurcated (bifid). The
tongue is protrusible (tongue
can be thrown out and
retracted). It arises from in front
of lower jaw. The tongue secrets
a kind of sticky substance so
that insects or prey coming neat
sticks in tongue.
 The versatile frog tongue can grab wet, hairy
and slippery surfaces with equal ease. It does
a lot better than our engineered adhesives –
not even household tapes can firmly stick to
wet or dusty surfaces. What makes this tongue
even more impressive is its speed: over 4,000
species of frog and toad snag prey faster than
a human can blink.
Researchers found in 2014 that
frog adhesion forces can reach
up to 1.4 times the body weight.
That means the sticky frog
tongue is strong enough to lift
nearly twice its own weight.
They postulated that the tongue
acts like sticky tape or a
pressure-sensitive adhesive – a
permanently tacky surface that
adheres to substrates under light
pressure.
• PHARYNX
Is aposterior part of buccopharyngeal cavity is called pharynx, which opens into
oesophagus.
• OESPHAGUS (esophagus)
The gullet leads to a short wide muscular distensible tube called oesophagus. It has the inner
lining of mucous glands which helps in lubrication of food. Its wall contains highly developed
muscles called muscularis which play the role in peristalsis.
• STOMACH

The stomach is large, thick walled muscular bag and

large sac-like structure about 5-7 cm long.
Anterior part of stomach is called cardiac part and
posterior part (pyloric) that stores ingested food.
Posterior part consists of pyloric constriction through
which food is slowly passed.
It has two parts. The upper part is larger and. It is
kept in its position by the help of mesentery called
mesogaster.

The stomach plays an important role in the storage of

food, mixing of food with digestive enzymes and it
also helps in digestion.
INTESTINE
It is long, coiled part which starts from pyloric
constriction. Intestine is divided into two parts.

• SMALL INTESTINE
Is situated in the loops supported by the
mesentery. It consists of duodenum and
ileum.
Duodenum:
It is U-shaped. It is 3-5 cm. It plays the role
in digestion as its wall contain digestive
glands secreting intestinal juice.
Ileum:
The ileum is very long coiled structure
about 25 cm long held in position by
mesentery. It plays an important role in the
absorption of digested food which is
facilitated by very long narrow tube
internally having finger-like projections
called villi which are richly supplied with
blood vessels.
• LARGE INTESTINE

Just like humans, the large intestine in frogs also

stores the undigested food. It performs the
function of absorbing water from the food
residue. The solid waste moves towards the
cloaca. Water or liquid waste moves to the
urinary bladder. Solid as well as liquid waste is
expelled out of the body through the cloacal
opening.
Rectum - Is short, broad tube 4-5 cm long. It
opens outside through cloaca and the opening id
called cloacal aperture. The rectum stores
undigested food for short time. Internally rectum
is also folded.