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Definition of "hindgut" [hind•gut]

  • The caudal portion of the embryonic alimentary canal in vertebrates. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "hindgut" in a sentence
  • "In other animals known as hindgut fermenters, including humans - in which food is fermented after going through their stomachs - methane is sometimes released through flatulence, a fact that, Mr. Klieve said, has led to misunderstanding about his work"
  • "The outer layer, or epidermis, appears in green; the blue branches along the top are part of a network of air-carrying tubes called the tracheal system; and the posterior intestine, or hindgut, is seen as two distinct curved green lines."
  • "Unlike the western lowland gorilla, which subsists on a leafy diet, we don't have a large hindgut where huge colonies of bacteria can ferment carbohydrates to produce short chain fatty acids that can then be absorbed by the body to be used for energy."
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