Digestive Anatomy & Physiology

Figure 3. Digestive tract of the Blanding's turtle,¹¹
           http://www.cnsweb.org/extra/digestvertebrates/WWWEdStevensReptilesTurtleOmniv.html 

As no digestive tract image was available for the midland painted turtle, Figure 3 represents the digestive tract of the Blanding's turtle, another semi-aquatic turtle, for reference.¹¹

The painted turtle, like all turtles, do not have teeth; they have slightly pointed jaws for ripping and tearing,⁶ here begins the first site of mechanical digestion. The mouth enters directly into the buccal cavity, followed by the esophagus, taking up approximately 1/4 - 1/2 of the body length.⁶ The J-shaped monogastric stomach is a heavy muscular tube that narrows to the pyloric valve entering the small intestine.⁶ The stomach is the first site for chemical digestion involving the secretions of hydrochloric acid and pepsinogen that break down digest and kill any whole live prey consumed. Following the pyloric valve lays the small intestine, where most of the digestion and absorption takes place by the help of bile and pancreatic secretions.⁶ The transition between the small and large intestine is abrupt. Microbial digestion occurs in the slightly, C-shaped large intestine/colon which empties into the cloaca; the pathway for both urinary and fecal waste excretion.⁶ The painted turtle has a caecum lying adjacent to the large intestine to help ferment plant material.⁶