The oesophagus is a long muscular tube-like structure which moves in a wave like manner. This movement is called peristalsis. It helps to push down the food into the stomach.

On the inner walls of the small intestine, there are small finger-like projections called villi ( singular: villus). Each villus has a network of blood vessels to absorb the nutrients. Villi help in increasing the surface area for absorption of digested food. The absorbed nutrients are then taken by the cells of the body.

Plants eating animals like cows, sheep, etc. quickly swallow their food after chewing once. The swallowed food goes to a chamber called the rumen. They bring back the food later from the rumen into the mouth and chew it again. These animals are called ruminants and the process is called rumination.