Editing Drinking (section)

== Methods of drinking ==

=== In humans ===
When a [[liquid]] enters a human [[mouth]], the [[swallowing]] process is completed by [[peristalsis]] which delivers the liquid through the [[esophagus]] to the [[stomach]]; much of the activity is assisted by gravity. The liquid may be poured from the hands or [[drinkware]] may be used as vessels. Drinking can also be by sipping or sucking, typically when imbibing hot liquids or drinking from a spoon. Infants employ a method of suction wherein the lips are pressed tight around a source, as in [[breastfeeding]]: a combination of breath and tongue movement creates a vacuum which draws in liquid.<ref name=Flint137>Flint, pp. 137–138.</ref>

=== In other land mammals ===
[[File:Cat_lapping_water_off_ground_in_slow_motion.gk.webm|thumb|Cat lapping water in slow motion|alt=refer to caption]]
[[File:Jack Russell Terrier takes a drink.jpg|thumb|[[Jack Russell Terrier]] laps in water with its tongue. |upright]]
By necessity, [[terrestrial animal]]s in captivity become accustomed to drinking water, but most free-roaming animals stay hydrated through the fluids and moisture in fresh food,<ref name=Mayer59>Mayer, p. 59.</ref> and learn to actively seek foods with high fluid content.<ref name="pmid35831501">{{cite journal | vauthors = Grove JC, Gray LA, La Santa Medina N, Sivakumar N, Ahn JS, Corpuz TV, Berke JD, Kreitzer AC, Knight ZA | title = Dopamine subsystems that track internal states | journal = Nature | volume = 608| issue = 7922| pages = 374–380| date = July 2022 | pmid = 35831501 | doi = 10.1038/s41586-022-04954-0 | pmc = 9365689 | bibcode = 2022Natur.608..374G | url = | doi-access = free }}</ref> When conditions impel them to drink from bodies of water, the methods and motions differ greatly among species.<ref name=Broom105>Broom, p. 105.</ref>

[[Cats]], [[Canidae|canines]], and [[ruminants]] all lower the neck and lap in water with their powerful tongues.<ref name=Broom105/> Cats and canines lap up water with the tongue in a spoon-like shape.<ref name=Smith238>Smith, p. 238.</ref> Canines lap water by scooping it into their mouth with a tongue which has taken the shape of a ladle. However, with cats, only the tip of their tongue (which is smooth) touches the water, and then the cat quickly pulls its tongue back into its mouth which soon closes; this results in a column of liquid being pulled into the cat's mouth, which is then secured by its mouth closing.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.science.org/content/article/cats-tongues-employ-tricky-physics |title = Cats' Tongues Employ Tricky Physics|date = 2010-11-12}}</ref> Ruminants and most other herbivores partially submerge the tip of the mouth in order to draw in water by means of a plunging action with the tongue held straight.<ref name=Smith237>Smith, p. 237.</ref> Cats drink at a significantly slower pace than ruminants, who face greater natural predation hazards.<ref name=Broom105/>

Many [[desert animals]] do not drink even if water becomes available, but rely on eating [[succulent plant]]s.<ref name=Broom105/> In cold and frozen environments, some animals like [[hares]], [[tree squirrels]], and [[bighorn sheep]] resort to consuming snow and icicles.<ref>Mayer, p. 54.</ref> In [[savannas]], the drinking method of [[giraffes]] has been a source of speculation for its apparent defiance of gravity; the most recent theory contemplates the animal's long neck functions like a [[plunger pump]].<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.insidescience.org/news/how-do-giraffes-drink-water |title = How do Giraffes Drink Water?|date = February 2016}}</ref> Uniquely, [[elephants]] draw water into their trunks and squirt it into their mouths.<ref name=Broom105/>

=== In birds ===
{{excerpt|Bird anatomy|Drinking behaviour}}
Most birds scoop or draw water into the [[Buccal cavity|buccal]] areas of their bills, raising and tilting their heads back to drink. An exception is the common [[rock dove|pigeon]], which can suck in water directly by inhalation.<ref name=Broom105/>

=== In insects ===
[[File:Drinking Bee2.jpg|thumb|Drinking can be observed in many insect species.<ref name=Broom105/>|alt=A honeybee drawing in water through its proboscis]]
Most insects obtain adequate water from their food: When dehydrated from a lack of moist food, however, many species will drink from standing water.<ref name="Chapman577">{{Cite book |last=Chapman |first=R. F. |author-link=Reginald Frederick Chapman |editor1=Simpson, S. J. |editor2=Douglas, A. E. |year=2012 |title=The Insects: Structure and Function |edition=5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yoggAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA577 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=577 |isbn=978-1107310452 }}</ref> Additionally, all terrestrial insects constantly absorb a certain amount of the air's humidity through their [[Arthropod cuticle|cuticles]].<ref name="Chapman577"/> Some desert insects, such as ''[[Onymacris unguicularis]]'', have evolved to drink substantially from nighttime fog.<ref name="Chapman577"/>

=== In marine life ===
[[Amphibian]]s and [[aquatic animal]]s which live in [[freshwater]] do not need to drink: they absorb water steadily through the skin by [[osmosis]].<ref name=Broom105/><ref name=Curtis569>Curtis, p. 569.</ref> [[Saltwater fish]], however, drink through the mouth as they swim, and purge the excess salt through the gills.<ref name=Curtis569/>  Saltwater fishes do drink plenty of water and excrete a small volume of concentrated urine.