<em>Food needs to be broken into smaller particles so that animals can harness the nutrients and organic molecules. The first step in this process is ingestion: </em><em>taking in food through the mouth.</em>
Food needs to be broken into smaller particles so that animals can harness the nutrients and organic molecules. The first step in this process is ingestion: taking in food through the mouth. Once in the mouth, the teeth, saliva, and tongue play important roles in mastication (preparing the food into bolus).
