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Ingestion
 
 
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Ingestion is the consumption of a substance by an organism
Organism

In biology, an organism is any life thing . In at least some form, all organisms are capable of response to stimulus , reproduction, growth and developmental biology, and maintenance of homeostasis as a stable whole....
. In animal
Animal

Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the Kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life....
s, it normally is accomplished by taking in the substance through the mouth
Mouth

The mouth, buccal cavity, or oral cavity is the first portion of the alimentary canal that receives food and begins digestion by mechanically breaking up the solid food particles into smaller pieces and mixing them with saliva....
 into the gastrointestinal tract
Gastrointestinal tract

The digestive tract is the system of Organ s within multicellular animals that takes in food, digestion it to extract energy and nutrients, and expels the remaining waste....
, such as through eating
Eating

In general terms, eating is the process of consuming food to provide for the nutritional needs of an animal, particularly their food energy requirements and to growth....
 or drinking
Drinking

Drinking is the act of consuming water through the mouth. Water is required for many of life?s physiological processes. Both excessive and inadequate water intake are associated with health problems....
. In single-celled organisms, ingestion can take place through taking the substance through the cell wall
Cell wall

A cell wall is a tough, flexible and sometimes fairly rigid layer that surrounds some types of cell . It is located outside the cell membrane and provides these cells with structural support and protection, and also acts as a filtering mechanism....
.

Besides nutrition
Nutrition

Nutrition is the provision, to cells and organisms, of the materials necessary to support life. Many common health problems can be prevented or alleviated with good nutrition....
al items, other substances which may be ingested include medication
Medication

A pharmaceutical drug, also referred to as medicine or medicament, can be loosely defined as any substance intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease....
s, recreational drugs
Recreational drug use

Recreational drug use is the use of psychoactive drugs for recreational purposes rather than for employment, Medicine or Spirituality purposes, although the distinction is not always clear ....
, and substances considered inedible such as foreign bodies
Foreign body

In physiology, a foreign body is any object originating outside the body. In machinery, it can mean any unwanted intruding object....
 or excrement
Excretion

Excretion is the process of eliminating waste products of metabolism and other non-useful materials. It is an essential process in all forms of life....
.






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Ingestion is the consumption of a substance by an organism
Organism

In biology, an organism is any life thing . In at least some form, all organisms are capable of response to stimulus , reproduction, growth and developmental biology, and maintenance of homeostasis as a stable whole....
. In animal
Animal

Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the Kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life....
s, it normally is accomplished by taking in the substance through the mouth
Mouth

The mouth, buccal cavity, or oral cavity is the first portion of the alimentary canal that receives food and begins digestion by mechanically breaking up the solid food particles into smaller pieces and mixing them with saliva....
 into the gastrointestinal tract
Gastrointestinal tract

The digestive tract is the system of Organ s within multicellular animals that takes in food, digestion it to extract energy and nutrients, and expels the remaining waste....
, such as through eating
Eating

In general terms, eating is the process of consuming food to provide for the nutritional needs of an animal, particularly their food energy requirements and to growth....
 or drinking
Drinking

Drinking is the act of consuming water through the mouth. Water is required for many of life?s physiological processes. Both excessive and inadequate water intake are associated with health problems....
. In single-celled organisms, ingestion can take place through taking the substance through the cell wall
Cell wall

A cell wall is a tough, flexible and sometimes fairly rigid layer that surrounds some types of cell . It is located outside the cell membrane and provides these cells with structural support and protection, and also acts as a filtering mechanism....
.

Besides nutrition
Nutrition

Nutrition is the provision, to cells and organisms, of the materials necessary to support life. Many common health problems can be prevented or alleviated with good nutrition....
al items, other substances which may be ingested include medication
Medication

A pharmaceutical drug, also referred to as medicine or medicament, can be loosely defined as any substance intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease....
s, recreational drugs
Recreational drug use

Recreational drug use is the use of psychoactive drugs for recreational purposes rather than for employment, Medicine or Spirituality purposes, although the distinction is not always clear ....
, and substances considered inedible such as foreign bodies
Foreign body

In physiology, a foreign body is any object originating outside the body. In machinery, it can mean any unwanted intruding object....
 or excrement
Excretion

Excretion is the process of eliminating waste products of metabolism and other non-useful materials. It is an essential process in all forms of life....
. Ingestion is a common route taken by pathogen
Pathogen

A pathogen , infectious agent, or germ, is a biological agent that causes disease or illness to its Host .There are several substrates and pathways whereby pathogens can invade a host; the principal pathways have different episodic time frames, but soil contamination has the longest or most persistent potential for harboring...
ic organism
Organism

In biology, an organism is any life thing . In at least some form, all organisms are capable of response to stimulus , reproduction, growth and developmental biology, and maintenance of homeostasis as a stable whole....
s and poison
Poison

In the context of biology, poisons are Chemical substance that can cause disturbances to organisms, usually by chemical reaction or other activity on the molecular scale, when a sufficient quantity is absorbed by an organism....
s entering the body.

Ingestion can also refer to a mechanism picking up something and making it enter an internal hollow of that mechanism, e.g. "a grille
Grille

A grille is an opening of several slits side by side in a wall or metal sheet or other barrier, usually to let air or water enter and/or leave but keep larger objects including people and animals in or out....
 was fitted to prevent the pump from ingesting driftwood
Driftwood

Driftwood is wood that has been washed onto a shore or beach of a sea or river by the action of winds, tides, waves or man. It is a form of marine debris....
".

Pathogens

Some pathogen
Pathogen

A pathogen , infectious agent, or germ, is a biological agent that causes disease or illness to its Host .There are several substrates and pathways whereby pathogens can invade a host; the principal pathways have different episodic time frames, but soil contamination has the longest or most persistent potential for harboring...
s are transmitted
Transmission (medicine)

In medicine, transmission is the passing of a disease from an infected individual or group to a previously uninfected individual or group.The microorganisms that cause disease may be transmitted from one person to another by one or more of the following means:...
 via ingestion, including virus
Virus

A virus is a Optical microscope#Limitations of light microscopes infectious agent that is unable to grow or reproduce outside a host cell . Viruses infect all cellular life....
es, bacteria
Bacteria

The Bacteria are a large group of unicellular microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria have a wide range of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals....
, and parasites. Most commonly, this takes place via the fecal-oral route
Fecal-oral route

The fecal-oral route is a Transmission of diseases, when they can be passed when Feces particles from one host are introduced into the mouth of another potential host....
. An intermediate step is often involved, such as drinking water
Drinking water

Drinking water is water that is of sufficiently high quality so that it can be consumed or utilized without risk of immediate or long term harm....
 contaminated by feces
Feces

Feces, faeces, or f?ces is a waste product from an animal's gastrointestinal tract expelled through the anus during defecation....
 or food
Food

Food is any substance, usually composed of carbohydrates, fats, proteins and water, that can be Eating or Drinking by an animal or human for nutrition or pleasure....
 prepared by workers who fail to practice adequate hand-washing, and is more common in regions where untreated
Sewage treatment

Sewage treatment, or domestic wastewater treatment, is the process of removing contaminants from wastewater and household sewage, both runoff and domestic....
 sewage
Sewage

Sewage is the mainly liquid waste containing some solids produced by humans which typically consists of washing water, feces, urine, laundry waste and other material which goes down Plumbing fixture from households and industry....
 is common. Disease
Disease

A disease or medical condition is an abnormal condition of an organism that impairs bodily functions, associated with specific symptoms and Medical signs....
s transmitted via the fecal-oral route include hepatitis A
Hepatitis A

Hepatitis A, , is an Acute infectious disease of the liver caused by Hepatitis A virus, which is most commonly transmitted by the fecal-oral route via contaminated food or drinking water....
, polio, and cholera
Cholera

Cholera, sometimes known as Asiatic or epidemic cholera, is an infectious gastroenteritis caused by enterotoxin-producing strains of the bacterium Vibrio cholerae....
.

Some pathogenic organisms are typically ingested by other routes.
  • Larva
    Larva

    A larva is a young form of animal with indirect developmental biology, going through or undergoing metamorphosis .The larva can look completely different from the adult form, for example, a caterpillar differs from a butterfly....
    e of the parasite Trichinella
    Trichinella

    Trichinella is the genus of parasitic roundworms of the phylum Nematoda that cause trichinosis. Members of this genus are often called trichinella or trichina worms....
     encyst
    Cyst

    A cyst is a closed sac having a distinct biological membrane and cell division on the nearby Biological tissue. It may contain air, fluids, or semi-solid material....
     within muscle
    MUSCLE

    MUSCLE is public domain, multiple sequence alignment software for protein and nucleotide sequences.MUSCLE is integrated into UGENE bioinformatics tool as a plugin....
    s and are transmitted when a new host
    Host (biology)

    In biology, a host is an organism that harbors a virus or parasite, or a mutual or commensal symbiont, typically providing nourishment and shelter....
     eats the infected flesh of a former host animal.
  • The parasite Dracunculus
    Dracunculus

    Dracunculus is a genus of spiruroid nematode parasites in the family Dracunculidae. Humans are the host of some species....
     is ingested in drinking water
    Drinking water

    Drinking water is water that is of sufficiently high quality so that it can be consumed or utilized without risk of immediate or long term harm....
    , which is contaminated with larvae released as the parasite emerges from the host's body.
  • The bacterium Salmonella
    Salmonella

    Salmonella is a genus of rod-shaped Gram-negative enterobacteriaceae that causes typhoid fever, paratyphoid fever, and the foodborne illness salmonellosis....
     most commonly infects humans via consumption of undercooked eggs
    Egg (food)

    An egg is a round or oval body laid by the female of many animals, consisting of an ovum surrounded by layers of membranes and an outer casing, which acts to nourish and protect a developing embryo and its nutrient reserves....
    .


Foreign objects

Disk batteries, also called button cells, are often mistakenly ingested, particularly by children and the elderly. They may be mistaken for a medication
Medication

A pharmaceutical drug, also referred to as medicine or medicament, can be loosely defined as any substance intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease....
 pill
Pill

Pill or the pill may refer to:* A ball, or anything small and round, the origin of the now-obselete term pill , referring to a specific dose of medicine....
 because of their size and shape, or they may be swallowed after being held in the mouth while the battery is being changed. Battery ingestion can cause medical problems including blocked airway
Airway

The airways are those parts of the respiratory system through which air flows, to get from the external environment to the alveoli.The airway begins at the mouth or nose, and accesses the vertebrate trachea via the pharynx....
, vomiting, irritability
Irritability

Irritability is an excessive response to stimulus . Irritability takes many forms, from the contraction of a unicellular organism when touched, to complex reactions involving all the senses of higher animals....
, persistent drooling, and rash
Rash

A rash is a change of the skin which affects its color, appearance, or texture. A rash may be localized in one part of the body, or affect all the skin....
 (due to nickel
Nickel

Nickel is a chemical element, with the chemical symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge....
 metal allergy
Allergy

Allergy is a Disorder of the immune system often also referred to as atopy. Allergic reactions occur to Natural environmental substances known as allergens; these reactions are Acquired disorder, predictable and rapid....
).

Pica
Pica (disorder)

Pica is a medical disorder characterized by an appetite for substances largely non-nutritive or an abnormal appetite for some things that may be considered foods, such as food ingredients ....
 is an abnormal appetite for non-nutritive
Nutrition

Nutrition is the provision, to cells and organisms, of the materials necessary to support life. Many common health problems can be prevented or alleviated with good nutrition....
 objects or for food items in a form not normally eaten, such as flour
Flour

Flour is a powder made of cereal grains. It is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many civilizations, making the availability of adequate supplies of flour a major economic and political issue at various times throughout history....
. Coprophagia
Coprophagia

Coprophagia is the consumption of feces, from the Greek language ??p??? copros and fa?e?? phagein . Many animal species practice coprophagia as a matter of course; other species do not normally consume feces but may do so under unusual conditions....
 is the consumption of feces
Feces

Feces, faeces, or f?ces is a waste product from an animal's gastrointestinal tract expelled through the anus during defecation....
, a behavior
Behavior

Behavior or behaviour refers to the action s or reactions of an object or organism, usually in Relational theory to the environment. Behavior can be conscious or Unconscious mind, overt or covert, and voluntary or involuntary....
 common in some animals.