Leech Digestive Process:
- The mouth, which opens at the base of the anterior sucker, has 3 half moon-shaped jaws, the free edge of which have numerous calcite teeth making the incision. These jaws cut through the skin of the leech’s prey, leaving a characteristic Y-shaped bite.
- The pharynx, equipped with powerful muscles, is used to suck and swallow blood. It evaginates into the wound to absorb the blood. Its wall contains numerous salivary glands.
- The stomach has 11 pairs of gastric caeca, with the longest of these in the posterior position. These structures, which are equipped with small valves, make it possible to hold the blood ingested, enabling the leech to store very large quantities of blood for long periods, thereby promoting the leech’s capacity to fast.
- The middle intestine is the active digestive zone and the short posterior intestine or rectum ends with the anus.