How do crayfish digest their food?

Crayfish have a two-part stomach, with each stomach breaking apart food in a different manner. They also possess a digestive gland, sometimes called a liver, and an intestine that finishes the digestive process and excretes waste as the organ travels from the second stomach to the anus.

The crayfish's first stomach is called the cardiac stomach. It stores food and also mechanically digests it. Inside the organ are teeth that grind up food before sending it onward down the digestive tract. The second stomach, the pyloric stomach, is more similar to the stomachs of humans and other vertebrates. It engages in chemical digestion, utilizing enzymes from the digestive gland to break down food further.