In zoology, the gut, also known as the alimentary canal or alimentary tract, is a tube by which bilaterian animals transfer food to the digestion organs. In large bilaterians the gut generally also has an exit, the anus, by which the animal disposes of solid wastes. Some small bilaterians have no anus and dispose of solid wastes by other means, for example through the mouth.
Animals that have guts are classified as either protostomes or deuterostomes, as the gut evolved twice, an example of convergent evolution. They are distinguished based on their embryonic development. Protostomes develop their mouths first, while deuterostomes develop their mouths second. Protostome include arthropods, molluscs, and annelids, while deuterostomes include echinoderms and chordates.
For more specific information on digestive organs see digestion#specialized organs and behaviors
Famous quotes containing the word guts:
“Our role is to support anything positive in black life and destroy anything negative that touches it. You have no other reason for being. I don’t understand art for art’s sake. Art is the guts of the people.”
—Elma Lewis (b. 1921)
“The words of a dead man
Are modified in the guts of the living.”
—W.H. (Wystan Hugh)
“Lord, confound this surly sister,
Blight her brow with blotch and blister,
Cramp her larynx, lung and liver,
In her guts a galling give her.”
—J.M. (John Millington)