Gruesome 3-D images of the insides of snakes, alligators and tarantulas have been captured with a new high-tech procedure.

The digital images show for the first time the complete digestion cycle of a Burmese python, including how the animal adapts its internal organs in preparation for a big meal and during digestion until the snack has vanished. [Gallery of Animal Guts in Action]

The results are being presented Wednesday at the annual meeting of the Society for Experimental Biology in Prague.

"Pythons are renowned for their ability to fast for many months and ingest very large meals," said study researcher Kasper Hansen, of Aarhus University in Denmark.