ABSTRACT
Alimentary canal (whole tongue = 7.90 g; whole stomach = 8.75 g; whole small intestines = 44.6 g; whole large intestines = 23.3 g; whole greater omentum = 1.73 g; whole rectum = 4.94 g; Figs. 13, 15)
• The esophagus extends from the laryngopharynx to the cardiac sphincter of the stomach, being similar to that of humans. The stomach sits horizontally and the cardiac and pyloric orifices are close together, giving the stomach a sickled appearance. The stomach is contained within the boundaries of the upper left quadrant, tapers dramatically towards the pyloric sphincter, and has a total surface area of approximately 3,872 mm2 and accounts for 0.4% of the total body mass. When the anatomy is compared to the anatomy of humans, the cardiac portion of the baby gorilla’s stomach is truncated and the fundus is not pronounced. The small intestine, including the duodenum, has an average length of around 1,120 mm. The small intestines account for approximately 2% of total body mass. The duodenum appears relatively larger than expected, taking into account this specimen’s size (81 mm in length). This is contrary to observations by others who found no distinct duodenum in Gorilla (Gibbs 1999). The large intestine is about 420 mm long and accounts for a little over 1% of total body mass. Haustrations are present, but not well defined. There are no clear large intestines divisions, meaning the intestines cannot be clearly divided into ascending, transverse, descending, and sigmoid parts. The colon
may be differentiated into a proximal portion continuous with the caecum and a very large loop incorporating three rather irregular wide loops, the most distal of which may be regarded as the equivalent of the sigmoid colon. The cecum is large and measures approximately 27 mm in mediolateral width and 22 mm in cranio-caudal height. An anal canal is present; anal valves are also present.
