Digestive System of Prawn

Digestive system of
Prawn
Digestive system
 Consist of alimentary canal and

hepatopancreas.
1. Alimentary canal:
• Composed of –
A. Foregut
B. Midgut
C. Hindgut
A. Foregut: comprises mouth, buccal cavity, oesophagus and stomach
i. Mouth:
- large slit like aperture situated mid-ventrally below the anterior end
of head between 3rd and 4th segments.
ii. Buccal cavity :
-anterio posteriorly compressed
-thick chitinous lining which is thrown into irregular folds
-molar processes of the mandibles project into buccal cavity to
cross the food.
iii. Oesophagus:
-short, tubular, broad structure runs almost vertically upwards from the buccal cavity
to cardiac stomach
-internally thick muscular wall is thrown into four longitudinal folds i,.e. anterior,
posterior and two lateral folds.
-These folds helps in transferring food into the lumen.
iv. Stomach:
-more spacious parts which occupies most of the cephalothoracic cavity
-Hepatopancreas surrounds the stomach laterally, ventrally and posteriorly.
Stomach is thin walled ,double chambered-consist of cardiac and pyloric part.
a. Cardiac stomach:
-large anterior bag like structure
-lined internally with delicate cuticle or intima
-inner lining of cuticle produce numerous inconspicuous longitudinal folds covered
by minute bristles.
-Its wall is supported by some cuticular plates ,embedded in internal lining.They are
Circular cuticular plate: anterior wall of oesophageal opening is covered by thin
circular cuticular plate.
Lanceolate plate: present on the anterior part of the roof of cardiac stomach just
behind the circular plate.
Hastate plate: large triangular plate embedded in the middle of the floor of cardiac
stomach.Lateral sides of the hastate plate are supported by a pair of cuticular
supporting rods.Lateral groove runs along the outer border of each supporting rod.
Groove plate: floor of each lateral groove is covered by circular plate which is like an
open drain pipe called groove plate.
Combed plate: each lateral groove on its outerside is supported by a long ridged
plate. Inner border of each ridged plate forms a long comb like structure called
combed plate.
 Just outside the combed plate , the wall of cardiac stomach is
folded on lateral side to form lateral longitudinal folds which
are also known as guiding ridges because they guide the
food towards the cardio-pyloric aperture.
 Cardiac pyloric aperture is narrow X-shaped and is guarded
by four valves.
 It leads into the pyloric stomach.
b. Pyloric stomach:
 Very small and narrow chamber lying below the posterior end of cardiac stomach
 Wall is thick and muscular which divide the lumen into small dorsal chamber and
larger ventral chamber.
 Two chamber communicating with each other by narrow vertical slit like aperture.
 The floor of ventral chamber is covered by a filter plate which allows only liquid
food to pass through it.
 Two duct of hepatopancreas lie at the posterior end of ventral chamber.
B. Midgut:
-Long narrow straight tube running back along the median line upto the sixth abdominal
segment
-Internal lining is formed by epithelium which in posterior side thrown into many folds.
-Thus the lumen is greately reduced.
C. Hindgut:
-shortest portion of the alimentary canal
-extends from the posterior end of midgut to the anus.
-Anterior swollen muscular part is called rectum or intestinal bulb.
-Rectum bears longitudinal folds.Anus is longitudinal slit,provided with spincter muscle
and situated at the base of telson.
2. Hepatopancreas or Liver:
-large,bilobed, compact, orange coloured glandular mass covering most
of the area of cephalothoracic cavity.
-Surrounds the stomach on its lateral, ventral and posterior sides.
-consists of numerous glandular branching tubules completely held
together by connective tissue.
-wall of the tubules is made of a single layer of columnar epithelial
cells(granular cells, ferment cells, hepatic cells and basal or replacing
cells)
-the canals of numerous tubules unite together at intervals forming
larger and larger canals.
-finally they form two large hepatopancreatic duct.
-hepatopancrtatic ducts open into the ventral chamber of pyloric stomach.
-hepatopancreas combines in itself the function of pancreas, liver and small intestine
of higher animals.
-like pancreas it secrets digestive enzymes for the digestion of carbohydrates,
proteins and fats
-like liver it serve as an important storage organ for glycogen ,fat and calcium.
-like midgut it absorbs the digested food materials.
Food and feeding
-Food consist of algae, moss, aquatic weeds, small aquatic insects etc.
-During feeding ,chelate legs pick up the food and take it to the mouth.
-2nd and 3rd pair of maxillipeds hold the food in position.
-Mandibles cut up the food into small pieces by their incisor processes and
transferred to the mouth.
-In mouth cavity molar processes of mandibles crush the food .
Digestion, Absorption and Egestion
-Crushed food goes to the cardiac stomach through the oesophagus.

-From cardiac stomach small particles of food passed on to the pyloric stomach and
larger particles remains on cardiac stomach.
-Digestive secretion of hepatopancreas is poured into the pyloric stomach through
hepatopancreatic ducts.
-Secretion reaches the cardiac stomach and mixes with the food.
-By the contraction and expansion of cardiac stomach food is churned and also
digested by the digestive enzymes.
-Semi digested food is carried into the ventral chamber of pyloric stomach through
the cardio pyloric aperture.
-Digestive and liquefied food is filtered through the pyloric filter and it enters the
hepatopancreas through hepatopancreatic ducts where it absorbs.
-So hepatopancreas serves for digestion as well as for absorption.
-Undigested food particles from pyloric chamber enters midgut for further digestion
and absorption.
-After that residual matter passes to the hindgut.
-Water is absorbed in hindgut.
-Undigested food temporarily stored in rectum and finally expelled out through anus.
Model questions
Long questions:
 Describe the digestive system of prawn.
 Give an account on appendages of prawn.
Short questions:
 Write short notes on feeding mechanism of prawn.
 Draw a well labelled diagram of appendages of prawn.
 Describe the abdominal appendages.

Digestive System of Prawn

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Digestive system of

 Consist of alimentary canal and

-Crushed food goes to the cardiac stomach through the oesophagus.

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