What term describes rodents eating their own feces to absorb nutrients produced by bacterial action in the colon?

• A. Coprophagy
• B. Autophagy
• C. Copropulsion
• D. Coprolalia

Answer: (A)

Coprophagy is the behavior of eating feces to reclaim nutrients produced by gut bacteria. In rodents, this includes recovering vitamins and other nutrients generated by bacterial fermentation, often by re-ingesting soft, mucus-coated fecal pellets (cecotropes) produced in the cecum. This recycling helps maximize nutrient absorption, especially for vitamins like B vitamins and some amino acids.

Autophagy is cellular self-digestion within cells, not related to eating feces. Copropulsion refers to moving feces through the gut, not ingesting them. Coprolalia is a vocal tic involving involuntary swearing, not a digestive process.