Comparative Anatomy and Physiology of Digestion in Vertebrates
1. describe the role of teeth in increasing the surface area of complex foods for
exposure to digestive chemicals
Some Resources:
 Relevant textbook chapters (available on MOSS)
-> Year 11 Student Resources > Science > Biology > Text Resources
 Internet search on role of teeth in digestion
 This website goes into some detail about comparative vertebrate anatomy, may also be
useful for the other dot points as many diagrams show comparison of digestive systems:
http://people.eku.edu/ritchisong/342notes7.html
2. identify data sources, gather, process, analyse and present information from
secondary sources and use available evidence to compare the digestive systems of
mammals, including a grazing herbivore, carnivore and a predominantly nectar
feeding animal
Some Resources:
 Relevant textbook chapters (available on MOSS)
-> Year 11 Student Res ources > Science > Biology > Text Resources
 The Honeypossum pdf document available from our wiki
 Internet search on comparative vertebrate digestion
 The following websites:
General digestion – human:
http://www.nicksnowden.net/Module_2_common_pages/Digestion.htm
The (contentious) argument that the human is not a natural vegetarian, with some comparisons
helpful to this task:
http://www.second-opinions.co.uk/carn_herb_comparison.html
Wider reading – the five classes of vertebrates
http://www.cnsweb.org/digestvertebrates/WWWEdStevensCDAnatomy.html
3. explain the relationship between the length and overall complexity of digestive
systems of a vertebrate herbivore and a vertebrate carnivore with respect to:
- the chemical composition of their diet
- the functions of the structures involved
Some Resources:
 The table you constructed for the previous dot point
 Relevant textbook chapters (available on MOSS)
-> Year 11 Student Resources > Science > Biology > Text Resources
 Internet search on relationship between length and complexity of digestive systems
Further Question:
Based on what you have learned regarding digestion, how can the human digestive tract best be
described (Herbivore, Carnivore, Omnivore)? What evidence do you have to support your answer?
What are the arguments for and against vegetarianism?
Give your table a title…
Mammalian Carnivore
Examples of
animals in this
group
Chemicals
common in foods
ingested by
animal
Diagram of
digestive system
(cut & paste from
internet)
Comparison of
system parts –
teeth
Comparison of
system parts –
stomach(s)
Comparison of
system parts –
small intestine
Comparison of
system parts –
Caecum
Comparison of
system parts –
Large Intestine
Mammalian Grazing
Herbivore
* Note that grazing herbivores
(Ruminants, eg. Cow) have a
more complex digestive system
than those of other herbivores
(eg. Rabbit, horse)
Mammalian Nectar
Feeder