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Cnidarians and flatworms have a gastrovascular cavity. Cnidarians, such as the hydra, use their tentacles to move food through their mouth into their gastrovascular cavity. Then the cells lining this cavity excrete digestive enzymes that will start extracellular digestion and break the prey into smaller pieces. Any undigested remnants of the prey are expelled through the mouth opening. Like cnidarians, flatworms have a gastrovascular cavity with a single opening, but the cavity itself is highly folded. These folds greatly increase the surface area and extend throughout the body, bringing nutrients within the reach of all cells.

The gastrovascular cavity of cnidarians and flatworms allows them to digest larger prey than they could with intracellular digestion. However, the effectiveness of a gastrovascular cavity in supplying the animal with nutrients is limited. Because there is only one opening to the external environment through which prey is taken in and remnants are expelled, the animals have to complete digestion of the first prey and expel its remnants before taking in another prey. With the evolution of a second opening in the digestive system, the digestive system became a digestive tract, or alimentary canal, making it a one-way system between mouth and anus. Food could now be taken in and processed continuously, providing the animal with more nutrients. Most animals-including vertebrates, arthropods, mollusks, round worms and earthworms-have this form of digestive tract.

A one-way digestive tract is efficient because it allows the food to pass through a series of specialized regions. Such regions may be specialized for protein, fat, or carbohydrate digestion, making each step more efficient. Other regions may be used for food storage or for preparing the food for chemical digestion by physically grinding it into smaller pieces, which exposes more surface area to the action of digestive enzymes. These specialized regions eventually evolved into organs as parts of a complex digestive organ system. However, because nutrient dispersal, by the digestive system itself to all cells of the body, was no longer feasible with such a specialized digestive system (and animals became larger and bulkier) a separate cardiovascular system evolved to serve that function.

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Q: What is the hydra digestive system like?
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What kind of digestive system does a hydra have?

i think a hydra has a incomplete digestive system called the-gastrovascular system


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An open digestive system is one where there is an entrance "mouth" in one end of the organism and an "exit" or anus of some sort in the other end of the organism. (think of worms or people). A closed digestive system is in something like a hydra or anemone where there is just one cavity and one opening that acts as both mouth and anus.


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An incomplete digestive system (found in certain lower invertebrates like Cnidarinas, i.e. hydra, marine jellyfish, and Platyhelminthes, i.e. flatworms) is where a single opening to a pouch-like cavity serves as both mouth and anus. A complete digestive system (all insects have them) means that food processing occurs within a tube-like enclosure, the alimentary canal, running lengthwise through the body from mouth to anus.


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