Digestive canal

The gastrointestinal tract (GI tract, GIT, digestive tract, digestion tract, alimentary canal) is the tract from the mouth to the anus which includes all the organs of the digestive system in humans and other animals.

Food taken in through the mouth is digested to extract nutrients and absorb energy, and the waste expelled as feces.

The mouth, esophagus, stomach and intestines are all part of the gastrointestinal tract.

Gastrointestinal is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the stomach and intestines.

A tract is a collection of related anatomic structures or a series of connected body organs.

Most bilaterians (including most invertebrates and all vertebrates) have a "through-gut" or complete digestive tract.

The sponges and cnidarians are early invertebrates with an incomplete digestive tract having just one opening instead of two, where food is taken in and waste expelled, while comb jellies have both a ventral mouth and dorsal anal pores (unlike the anterior-posterior positions in bilaterians).

The human gastrointestinal tract consists of the esophagus, stomach, and intestines, and is divided into the upper and lower gastrointestinal tracts.

The GI tract includes all structures between the mouth and the anus, forming a continuous passageway that includes the main organs of digestion, namely, the stomach, small intestine, and large intestine.

However, the complete human digestive system is made up of the gastrointestinal tract plus the accessory organs of digestion (the tongue, salivary glands, pancreas, liver and gallbladder).