Digestion is important to animals as it allows the food molecules to be broken down into smaller pieces, releasing the energy found in the bonds of the food. This energy is essential to maintain metabolism and to carry out the essential life processes. There are many important components of the digestive system. The first is the mouth, this is where mechanical digestion …show more content…
The gut is also very important as it is where the digested molecules are absorbed into the blood system and transported around the body to where they are needed. Each animal has a different makeup of the way the stomach and other organs function that are beneficial in getting the most out of their diet. I.e. Rabbits eat soft, nutrient-rich faecal pallets to enable it to meet its requirements for vitamins and proteins, whereas humans do not.
Rabbits are herbivores and have a complete digestive system. A complete digestive system involves having a tube like gut, which extends the length of the body, causing there to be two main openings, one at the mouth and the other at the anus. First the plant material is broken down a little by mechanical digestion in the mouth, it then passes through the oesophagus into the stomach. Chemical digestion then begins, breaking up the food particles with the use of enzymes, this process continues as the food continues to the small intestine, where the final breakdown occurs before the nutrients is absorbed and carried around the body by the use of the bloodstream. On the first pass through the gut, the bacteria in the caecum ferment the food