Gathering Food
Paramecia feed on micro-organisms like bacteria, algae, and yeasts. To gather its food, the Paramecium uses its cilia to sweep up food along with some water into the cell mouth after it falls into the oral groove. The food goes through the cell mouth into the gullet. When enough food has accumulated at the gullet base, it forms a food vacuole in the cytoplasm, and travels through the cell, through the back end first. As it moves along, enzymes from the cytoplasm enter the vacuole to digest the contents, digested nutrients then go into the cytoplasm, and the vacuole shrinks. When the vacuole reaches the anal pore, it ruptures, expelling its waste contents to the exterior.
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