In animal anatomy, the mouth is the first portion of the alimentary canal that receives food.
Some animal phyla, including vertebrates, have a complete digestive system, with a mouth at one end and an anus at the other. Which end forms first in ontogeny is a criterion used to classify animals into protostome and deuterostome. The first space of the mouth is the mouth cavity, bounded laterally and in front by the alveolar arches (containing the teeth), and posteriorly by the isthmus of the fauces.
Read more about Mouth: In Human Anatomy
Famous quotes containing the word mouth:
“In his tenth July some instinct
taught him to arm the waiting wave,
a giant where its mouth hung open.
He rode on the lip that buoyed him there
and buckled him under.”
—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)
“As long as the “woman’s work” that some men do is socially devalued, as long as it is defined as woman’s work, as long as it’s tacked onto a “regular” work day, men who share it are likely to develop the same jagged mouth and frazzled hair as the coffee-mug mom. The image of the new man is like the image of the supermom: it obscures the strain.”
—Arlie Hochschild (20th century)
“With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,
And mouth with myriad subtleties.”
—Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872–1906)