midgut

American  

[mid-guht] / ˈmɪdˌgʌt /

noun

1. Zoology.

   1. the middle portion of the vertebrate alimentary canal, posterior to the stomach or gizzard and extending to the cecum, functioning in the digestion and absorption of food; the small intestine.

   2. the anterior portion of the arthropod colon, composed of endodermal tissue.

2. Embryology. the middle part of the embryonic alimentary canal from which the intestines develop.

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midgut British  

/ ˈmɪdˌɡʌt /

noun

1. the middle part of the digestive tract of vertebrates, including the small intestine

2. the middle part of the digestive tract of arthropods

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Etymology

Origin of midgut

First recorded in 1870–75; mid- + gut

Example Sentences

In the alkaline midgut, the two new base-reactive molecules underwent a series of chemical changes, allowing them to bind to proteins in the gut and be detected by the researchers using fluorescence.

From Science Daily • Apr. 8, 2024

So, Michael Riehle, John Jewett and colleagues wanted to develop molecular probes that would react to this change in pH, only "activating" in the alkaline portion of the midgut.

From Science Daily • Apr. 8, 2024

When another tsetse fly bites the infected person, it takes up the pathogen, which then multiplies by binary fission in the fly’s midgut.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

We propose that this can happen from the haemocoel, that is, the basolateral membrane, or the midgut lumen, that is, the apical membrane.

From Nature • Apr. 4, 2014

The extent of this uninclosed region, the midgut, is very difficult to determine with accuracy, but, at this stage, it comprises about one-half of all the sections of the series.

From Development of the Digestive Canal of the American Alligator by Reese, C. M.