egestion

Undigested food may also be expelled this way, in a process called egestion.

This consists of 5 stages, ingestion, digestion, absorption, assimilation and egestion.

Egestion (Excretion): Removal of undigested materials from the digestive tract through defecation.

In some species, there are pores in the pharynx opening to the ventral surface; these may allow egestion of any excess water swallowed while feeding.

The material consumed by sand bubbler crabs has a very low concentration of organic matter, which is concentrated by egestion of indigestible material.

The digestive cavity has only one opening for both the ingestion (intake of nutrients) and egestion (removal of undigested wastes); as a result, the food cannot be processed continuously.

Due to non-predatory death, egestion, and respiration, a significant amount of energy is lost to the environment instead of being absorbed for production by consumers, as depicted in the figure below.

While the myth that the gum found in MREs contains a laxative is false, the crackers in the ration pack do contain a higher than normal vegetable content to facilitate egestion.