Bicarbonate bicarbonate – in conjunction with water, hydrogen ions, and carbon dioxide – forms this buffering system, which is maintained at the volatile equilibrium required to provide prompt resistance to pH changes in both the acidic and basic directions. This is especially important for protecting tissues of the central nervous system, where pH changes too far outside of the normal range in either direction could prove disastrous (see acidosis or alkalosis). Bicarbonate also serves much in the digestive system. It raises the internal pH of the stomach, after highly acidic digestive juices have finished in their digestion of food. Bicarbonate also
Digestive system of gastropods that the anus of the animal is located above its head. A number of species have developed special adaptations to feeding, such as the "drill" of some limpets, or the harpoon of the neogastropod genus "Conus". Filter feeders use the gills, mantle lining, or nets of mucus to trap their prey, which they then pull into the mouth with the radula. The highly modified parasitic genus "Enderoxenos" has no digestive tract at all, and simply absorbs the blood of its host through the body wall. The digestive system usually has the following parts: The buccal mass is the first part