Edit page | Page history | Printable version

Definition

noun

The act or process of voiding or discharging undigested food as faeces.

Supplement

Egestion is the discharge or expulsion of undigested material (food) from a cell in case of unicellular organisms, and from the digestive tract via the anus in case of multicellular organisms.

It should not be confused with excretion, which is getting rid of waste formed from the chemical reaction of the body, such as in urine, sweat, etc.

Word origin: from Latin ēgerere, ēgest-, to carry out.
Related forms: egest (verb).

Compare: excretion.
See also: defecation.