College of Veterinary Medicine > Veterinary Teaching Hospital > SPECIES > Dogs > Digestive system of the dog

Digestive system of the dog

The digestive system absorbs and digests food and eliminates solid wastes from the body and includes the:

  • Mouth
  • Teeth
  • Salivary Glands
  • Esophagus and Stomach
  • Small Intestine
  • Large Instestine
  • Pancreas
  • Liver and Gall Bladder

Mouth

Artist's illustration of dog's mouth and tongue.

Teeth

Artist's illustration of dog's skull, focusing on the jaw and teeth.

Esophogus and Stomach

Artist's drawing of outside of stomach and esophugus.
Artist's drawing of the stomach with a line of dissection to illustrate the inside of the stomach.

Small Intestine

Artist's illustration of the small intestine in relation to the liver, stomach, spleen, and urinary bladder, ureter. Second illustration diagraming the mesenteric blood vessels and the mesentery.

Large Intestine and Anus

Artist's illustration of transverse colon and descending colon. The colon is sliced open to illustrate the normal mucosa within.
Artist's drawing of the dog's hind end, pointing out the levator ani muscle, coccygeus muscle, external anal sphincter, anal sac, excetory duct of the anal sac, internal obturator muscle, bulbo-spongiosus muscle, the retractor penis muscle, and the scrotum.

Pancreas

Artist's illustration of the pancreas in relation to the esophagus, stomach, duodenum, cecum, ileum, jejunum, transverse colon, and descending colon.

Liver

Artist's diagram of the liver, its lobes, where the gallbladder sits, the caudal vena cava, and the portal vein. Second illustration is of a dogs torso from its right side, showing the kidney, omentum, liver, gallbaladder, diaphragm, heart and lungs, and how the sit in the rib cage.

The pictures in this section are reprinted with permission by the copyright owner, Hill’s Pet Nutrition, from the Atlas of Veterinary Clinical Anatomy. These illustrations should not be downloaded, printed or copied except for personal, non-commercial use.

Washington State University assumes no liability for injury to you or your pet incurred by following these descriptions or procedures.