DIGESTIVE STRUCTURE
Although a giant panda's main food source is bamboo which is what herbivores eat, the giant panda is still considered carnivorous. Therefore the giant panda's digestive system is made to take nutrition from meat, not plants. The giant panda gets very little energy and protein from the bamboo that it eats. The digestive system is made up of bundled organs that help break down and absorb nutrition from the food that it eats and converts it into energy for the body to use. The organs are the mouth, oesophagus, liver, gallbladder, cardiac sphincter, stomach, spleen, pylorus, pancreas, duodenum, large intestine, small intestine, colon, rectum, and anus. When food is eaten by the giant panda it is first chewed, then saliva enzymes start digestion converting the food into nutritious paste. Once the food is swallowed it enters the stomach which breaks down the food by the stomach acid. The breakdown of the food via acid is done in order to extract nutrients and vitamins. Blood then enters the stomach area to gather the nutrients and distribute them to the body.