Editing Ingestion (section)

{{short description|Consumption of a substance by an organism}}
{{Redirect|Ingested|the band|Ingested (band)}}
'''Ingestion'''  is the consumption of a substance by an [[organism]]. In [[animal]]s, it normally is accomplished by taking in a substance through the [[mouth]] into the [[gastrointestinal tract]], such as through [[eating]] or [[drinking]]. In [[single-celled organism]]s, ingestion takes place by absorbing a substance through the [[cell membrane]].

Besides [[nutrition]]al items, substances that may be ingested include [[medication]] (where ingestion is termed [[oral administration]]), [[Recreational drug use|recreational drugs]], and substances considered inedible, such as [[Foreign body|foreign bodies]] or [[excretion|excrement]]. Ingestion is a common route taken by [[pathogen]]ic [[organism]]s and [[poison]]s entering the body.

Ingestion can also refer to a mechanism picking up something and making it enter an internal hollow of that mechanism, e.g. "''a [[grille (architecture)|grille]] was fitted to prevent the pump from ingesting [[driftwood]]''".