"Mouth" - what is it, definition of the term
The oral opening is a muscular cavity bounded by the lips and cheeks, containing teeth, tongue, and salivary glands; it facilitates ingestion, mechanical breakdown, and initial chemical digestion of food, while also serving as a primary organ for vocalization, respiration, and sensory perception through taste buds and tactile receptors.
Detailed information
Ticks possess a capitulum that houses a hypostome, chelicerae, and palps. The hypostome is barbed, enabling firm attachment to host tissue while the chelicerae pierce the epidermis. Salivary secretions introduced through this apparatus contain anticoagulants and immunomodulators, facilitating prolonged blood ingestion.
Bugs, particularly members of the order Hemiptera, feature a piercing‑sucking rostrum composed of elongated stylets. The stylets interlock to form a channel through which plant sap or animal fluids are drawn. Enzymes secreted at the tip liquefy solid substrates, allowing efficient uptake.
Lice exhibit mandibles adapted for scraping and cutting keratinized material. These mandibles operate in tandem with a labrum that guides particulate matter toward the foregut. The mouthparts are capable of extracting blood from superficial capillaries in the host’s epidermis.
Fleas possess a short, robust proboscis ending in a serrated stylet. The stylet penetrates the host’s skin, creating a micro‑wound through which blood flows into the foregut. A muscular pump in the thorax generates negative pressure, drawing fluid rapidly during each feeding cycle.