1. (A) Daily X-ray images of a python digesting a rat that was equal to 25% of the snake's body mass.
(A) Daily X-ray images of a python digesting a rat that was equal to 25% of the snake's body mass. At 1 day postfeeding (DPF), the rat's skeleton is completely intact within the python's stomach, whereas by day 6 the rat's skeleton has been completely broken down and passed into the small intestine. (B) The postprandial profile of gastric pH for Burmese pythons demonstrating the rapid drop in pH after feeding, the steady maintenance of a very acidic pH during digestion, and the rise in pH upon the completion of gastric digestion when acid production ceases. Error bars in B and subsequent figures represent± 1 s.e.m. Gastric pH profile redrawn from data presented in Secor (Secor, 2003).
Stephen M. Secor J Exp Biol 2008;211:
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