The digestive system is derived from the endoderm and mesoderm, which form its epithelium and smooth muscle, respectively. As in the other systems, there is an epithelial-mesenchymal interactions mediated by molecules such as Hedgehog, BMP and FoxF1, determining intestinal growth in the main axes. The Hox genes, together the rest of the molecules, involved in the regionalization of the digestive system. In the beginning we call it primitive gut, consisting of a tube derived of endodermal yolk sac, divided into foregut, midgut and hindgut. In this review we will see how these 3 segments give rise to different structures of the digestive system in vertebrates.