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:
“The act of putting into your mouth what the earth has grown is perhaps your most direct interaction with the earth.”
—Frances Moore Lappé (b. 1944)
“I was tired of being a woman,
tired of the spoons and the pots,
tired of my mouth and my breasts,
tired of the cosmetics and the silks.”
—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)
“I know the compassion of others is a relief at first. I don’t despise it. But it can’t quench pain, it slips through your soul as through a sieve. And when our suffering has been dragged from one pity to another, as from one mouth to another, we can no longer respect or love it.”
—Georges Bernanos (1888–1948)