Digestion uses enzymatic hydrolysis to break bonds in macromolecules.
Hydrolytic enzymes catalyze the digestion of each class of macromolecule by adding water.
Occurs in a specialized compartment where the enzymes are contained so they don't damage the animal's own cells. Absorption is the third stage of the process and involves the uptake of the small molecules resulting from digestion. Elimination is the fourth, and last, stage where undigested material passes out of the digestive compartment. Digestion occurs in food vacuoles, gastrovascular cavities, and alimentary canals Intracellular Digestion in Food Vacuoles Food vacuoles are the simplest digestive compartments. They are organelles where a single cell digests its food without hydrolytic enzymes mixing with the cell's cytoplasm.