Digestive system of gastropods the food forward in a steady stream from the mouth. Usually, the food is embedded in a string of mucus produced in the mouth, creating a coiled conical mass in the style sac. This action, rather than muscular peristalsis, is responsible for the movement of food through the gastropod digestive tract. Two diverticular glands open into the stomach, and secrete enzymes that help to break down the food. In the more primitive species, these glands may also absorb the food particles directly and digest them intracellularly. The hepatopancreas is the largest organ in stylommatophoran gastropods. It produces enzymes, and absorbs
Development of the digestive system disc, holds the tubes together and the lateral plate mesoderm, the middle layer of the germ disc, splits to form a visceral layer associated with the gut and a parietal layer, which along with the overlying ectoderm, forms the lateral body wall. The space between the visceral and parietal layers of lateral plate mesoderm is the primitive body cavity. When the lateral body wall folds, it moves ventrally and fuses at the midline. The body cavity closes, except in the region of the connecting stalk. Here, the gut tube maintains an attachment to the yolk sac. The yolk sac is