anus
Sign in to saveIn mammals, invertebrates and most fish, the anus (: anuses or ani; from Latin, 'ring' or 'circle') is the external body orifice at the exit end of the digestive tract (bowel), i.e. the opposite end from the mouth. Its function is to facilitate the expulsion of waste that remains after digestion.
AI overview
The anus is the external opening at the end of the digestive tract through which waste material exits the body after digestion. It serves the important function of allowing organisms to eliminate the undigested matter that the body cannot use.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Key facts
- Anatomy.Lymph
- Superficial inguinal lymph nodes
- Anatomy.Name
- Anus
- Anatomy.Latin
- anus
- Anatomy.Image
- File:Dog’s anus.jpg
- Anatomy.Caption
- Anus of a dog
- Anatomy.Image2
- Protovsdeuterostomes.svg
- Anatomy.Caption2
- Formation of anus in proto- and deuterostomes
- Anatomy.Precursor
- Proctodeum
- Anatomy.System
- Alimentary
- Anatomy.Artery
- Inferior rectal artery
- Anatomy.Vein
- Inferior rectal vein
- Anatomy.Nerve
- Inferior rectal nerves
via Wikipedia infobox
Article
3 sectionsContents
- Development
- See also
- References
In mammals, invertebrates and most fish, the anus (: anuses or ani; from Latin, 'ring' or 'circle') is the external body orifice at the exit end of the digestive tract (bowel), i.e. the opposite end from the mouth. Its function is to facilitate the expulsion of waste that remains after digestion.
Bowel contents that pass through the anus include the gaseous flatus and the semi-solid feces, which (depending on the type of animal) include: indigestible matter such as bones, hair pellets, endozoochorous seeds and digestive rocks; residual food material after the digestible nutrients have been extracted, for example cellulose or lignin; ingested matter which would be toxic if it remained in the digestive tract; excreted metabolites like bilirubin-containing bile; and dead mucosal epithelia or excess gut bacteria and other endosymbionts. Passage of feces through the anus is typically controlled by muscular sphincters, and failure to stop unwanted passages results in fecal incontinence.