Notes
Slide Show
Outline
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Ruminants
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What is a ruminant digestive system?
  • List 4 compartments of a ruminant stomach.


  • Describe characteristics of a ruminant animal.


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Non-Ruminant Stomach
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Compartments of Ruminant Stomach
  • Rumen
  • Reticulum
  • Omasum
  • Abomasum
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Rumen
  • Largest compartment
  • Makes up about 80% of the total capacity of the stomach
  • Mature dairy cow—capacity of 50-60 gallons
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Rumen
  • Ruminant animal—chews food just enough so it can be swallowed.
  • Rumen—food worked up by millions of bacteria and microorganisms
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Rumen
  • Bacteria and Microorganisms—transform low-quality protein and some nitrogen compounds into essential amino acids
  • Manufacture vitamins (B)
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Rumen
  • Food not digested—regurgitated in the form of cud
  • Cud is chewed and then swallowed again, where it is further digested.
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Reticulum
  • “Hardware” stomach.  Why?
  • Can hold foreign bodies like nails and pieces of wire for long periods of time to prevent injury
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Reticulum
  • Works in the formation of cud for regurgitation


  • Looks like a beehive—is often called the “honeycomb”
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Omasum
  • Made up of many layers of muscular tissue—referred to as “many plies”


  • Removes large amounts of water from food
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Abomasum
  • True stomach
  • Functions like a single-stomach
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Abomasum
  • Food then moves from abomasum to small intestine
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REVIEW
  • What is a ruminant animal?


  • How many stomach compartments make up the stomach of a ruminant animal?


  • What are the names of these compartments?
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What is a ruminant digestive system?
  • List 4 compartments of a ruminant stomach.


  • Describe characteristics of a ruminant animal.