Digestive System:

1. Oral Cavity and Pharynx

a. The Salivary Glands:
i. The Parotid Gland:
-Messentary: None
-Description: A pinkish gland spread out under the skin
anterior and ventral to the ear. The parotid gland is located ventrad and crania
d to the base of the ear. The ducts pass along the external surface of the masse
ter muscle and penetrates the lower lip.
ii. The Submaxillary Gland:
-Messentary: None
-Description: Roundish mass at the angle of the jaw nea
r the posterior margin of the masseter. Its duct is found coming out of the inte
rnal surface. The beginning of the duct is surrounded by the sublingual gland.
iii. The Sublingual Gland:
-Messentary: None
-Description: Found surrounding the duct of the submaxil
lary gland.
iv. The Molar Gland:
-Messentary: None
-Description: Between the skin and the external surface
of the mandible, in front of the masseter.
v. The Infraorbital Gland:
-Messentary: None
-Description: Found in the floor of the orbit
b. The Oral Cavity
i. Oral cavity
-Messentary: None
-Description: Anterior part of the cavity
ii. Lips and Cheeks
-Messentary: None
-Description: Boundary of the oral cavity
iii. Vestibule
-Messentary: None
-Description: The area of the oral cavity between the li
ps and teeth.
iv. Hard Palate
-Messentary: None
-Description: Anterior portion of the roof of the oral c
avity. The mucous membrane is thrown into a number of roughened transverse ridge
s.
v. Soft Palate
-Messentary: None
-Description: Posterior portion of the roof of the oral
cavity. It lacks bony support.
vi. Nasopalatine Duct
-Messentary: None
-Description: Anterior end of hard palate, just behind t
he inscisor teeth
vii. Tongue
-Messentary: None
-Description: Fleshy muscular organ found at the floor o
f the oral cavity. Anterior part of the tongue is covered with filiform papillae
(many are spine like and pointed posteriorly) and the remainder is covereed wit
h fungiform papillae, among these are four to six vallate papillae arranged in a
V-shaped row
viii. Frenulum
-Mesentary: None
-Description: A vertical fold at the anterior margin of
the attachment of the tongue to the floor of the oral cavity.
 c. The Pharynx
i. Pharynx
-Messentary: None
-Description: Portion of the cavity lying posterior and
dorsal to the soft palate.
ii. Isthmus of the Fauces
-Description: Opening formed by the free border of the p
alate that leads to the pharynx
iii. Tonsillar Fossa
-Descript: Anterior to the isthmus of the fauces on each
side is a pit, which contains a small mass of lymphoid tissue (the palatine ton
sil)
iv. Glossopalatine arch
-A low boundary fold anterior to the tonsillar fossa
v. Pharyngopalatine arch
-A low boundary fold posterior to the tonsillar fossa
vi. Nasopharynx
-A cavity dorsal to the soft palate.
vii. Posterior Nares (choanae)
-At the anterior end of the nasopharynx, they are the in
ternal ends of the nasal passages
viii. Auditory or Eustachian tubes
-Oblique slits on the lateral wall of the nasopharynx po
sterior to the posterior nares
ix. Esophagus
-A narrow section after the pharynx that proceeds downwa
rd posteriorly to the larynx
x. Epiglottis
-A projecting proces that guards the entrance to the eso
phagus
2. Hyoid apparatus, Larynx, Trachea, and Esophagus
i. Larynx (voice box)
-In the median ventral line, posterior to the body of the hyoid
is a chamber with cartilaginous walls
ii. Glottis
-Found at the top of the larynx, it is a large opening
iii. Thyroid Cartilage
-Forms a ring around the larynx forming a large shield shaped ca
rtilage
iv. Cricoid cartilage
-A short distance posterior to the tyroid cartilage
v. Arytenoids
-A pair of projecting cartilages between the glottis and the eso
phagus
vi. True Vocal Cords
-Seen extending from the arytenoid cartilages to the thyroid car
tilage.
vii. False Vocal Cords
-Lateral to the true vocal cords, from the tips of the arytenoid
s to the base of the epiglottis
viii. Trachea
-Windpipe, walls are stiffened with cartilaginour rings
ix. The Thyroid Gland
-On each side of the trachea, lying agaisnt the trachea and inte
rnal to the muscles is one of the lobes of the thyroid gland
x. Isthmus
-Connection of the two lobes at the caudal end
3. Pleural Cavity
i. Pleural Cavity (Pleural Sac)
-Laterally located on both right and left sides of the cat, cont
ains the lung.
ii. Lung
-Soft and spongy, has three lobes
-small anterior lobe and larger middle and posterior lobes
-large posterior lobe is subdivided into medial and lateral lobu
le
-attached by the radix or root: a narrow region
-Attached to the dorsal thoracic wall via the pulmonary ligament
iii. Diaphragm
-Found in the posterior wall of the pleural sac, dome shaped mus
cle.
-Center of diaphragm consissts of connective tissue forming the
circular tendon
iv. Pleura
-Lines the pleural sac, smooth moist membrane. Divided into two
parts, parietal and visceral
a. Parietal Pleura: Inside of pleural sac, convers anterior face
of diaghram, forms part of mediastinal septum
b. Visceral Pleura: Over the surface of the lung
4. Peritoneal Cavity and its contents
i. Abdominal or Periotneal Cavity
-Anterior wall formed by the diaphragm, large cavity
-Lined by the peritoneum, the portion inside the body wall is th
e parietal peritoneum
-The visceral peritoneum, or serosa, forms a covering layer over
the surace of the viscera
ii. Liver
-large and lobed, generally grayish to brown.
-Messentary: Lesser omentum or the gastro-hepato-duodenal ligame
nt
-foramen epiploicum: opening slit that is the entrance to the ca
vity of the omentum
-left and right lobes, each subdivided into a median and lateral
lobe (left lateral and right median are larger than the others)
-right lateral lobe deeply cleft into two lobules
-hepatic duct
-falciform ligament: between two median lobes of the liver to mi
dventral line, thin sheet with concave posterior border
-coronary ligament: attaches the liver to the central tendon of
diphragm
iii. Small Intestine
-Messentary: Greater Omentum- a thin membrane impregnated with s
treaks of fat that ventrally coveres the intestine
-Hepatoduodenal ligament: connects duodenum to liver
-Duodenum: first region of the intestine, supported by a part of
the dorsal messentary (mesoduodenum). It is also attached to the right kidney v
ia the duodenal ligament
-Remainder of the intestine is supported by the messentary prope
r (dorsal mesetery)
-Jejunum: region of intestine after the duodenum
-ileum: region of intestine after jejunum, no definite boundary
-villi
iv. Urinary Bladder
-Pear Shaped
-sac occupying the posterior end of the peritoneal cavity, ventr
al to the large instestine
-mesentery: the median ligamentof the bladder
-lateral ligament of the bladder
v. Stomach
-Messentary: Mesogaster
 -Under the liver and dorsally to the left of the liver
-Small and elongated organ
-Cardia: area of junction between the stomach and the esophagus,
the region of the stomach adjacent to this is the cardiac end.
-Lesser Curvature: shorter, slightly concave anterior surface of
stomach from cardia to pylorus
-Greater Curvature: larger, convex posterior surface
-Fundus: Saclike bulge of stomach to the left of the cardia
-Body: remainder of the stomach
-Pylorus: point of junction between the stomach and the small in
testine, marked by a constriction (pyloric valve)
-rugae in stomach
vi. Spleen
-Attached to the left border of the stomach, rather large
-Messentary: ventral wal of the greater omentum, portion between
spleen and stomach is the gastrosplenic (gastrolienal) ligament
vii. Gall Bladder
-large, elongated gall bladder embedded in a cleft in the right
median lobe
-cystic duct
viii. Caudate Lobe
-located between the liver and the stomach
-Messentary: lesser omentum or the gastro-hepato-duodenal ligame
nt
ix. Bile Duct
-Messentary: Hepatoduodenal ligament
-Cystic and Hepatic ducts combine to form the common bile duct
x. Pancreas
-Messentary: Mesoduodenum
-definite, compact, pinkish gland which extends to the left into
the dorsal wall of the greater omentum dorsal to the curvature of the stomach
-Has 2 pancreatic ducts. The principal duct joins the common bil
e duct at the point when the common bile duct enters the duodenum
-the accessory duct enters the duodenum about three-quarters of
an inch caudad to the principle duct
-Ampulla of Vater: common, slightly swollen champer where bile d
ucts and pancreatic ducts unite
xi. Caecum
-vermiform appendix that is practically absent
-this marks the junction between the long and short intestine wi
th a slight projection
-ileocolic valve
xii. Colon (Large Intestine)
-ascending colon, transverse colon, descending colon
-mesentary: mesocolon
-terminal portion of descending colon is the rectum