The human alimentary canal begins with mouth (anterior opening) followed by buccal cavity or oral cavity. The oral cavity then leads into short pharynx followed by oesophagus and stomach. Stomach is followed by small intestine and large intestine. And the alimentary canal opens posteriory through the anus.

The major digestive glands associated with the alimentary canal with their location are as follows:

- Salivary glands: is present in the mouth. The saliva is produced by three pairs of salivary glands namely parotids (cheek), the sub-maxillary / sub-mandibular (lower jaw) and the sublinguals (below the tongue).

- Gastric glands: is present in stomach

- Liver: is situated adjacent to the stomach. It is located in abdominal cavity just below the diaphragm.

- Pancreas: is situated below the stomach. It is located between the limbs of the ‘C’-shaped duodenum.