Modified by Georgia Agricultural Education Curriculum Office Digestive Systems Modified by Georgia Agricultural Education Curriculum Office July, 2002

A RUMINANT IS : An animal with four distinct compartments in its stomach, which swallows its food essentially unchewed, regurgitates it, chews it thoroughly and reswallows it.

Examples Include : Cattle Sheep Goats Deer Elk

STOMACH COMPARTMENTS Reticulum- honeycomb (5% of capacity) Rumen- paunch (80% of capacity) Omasum-manyplies (7% of capacity) Abomasum- true stomach (8% of capacity)

AKA: “The hardware stomach” Reticulum AKA: “The hardware stomach” The reticulum furnishes additional storage space and holds foreign materials such as nails and wire which may cause serious damage to the other body organs if they pass through the system. Often a magnet is fed to ruminants to catch and hold this foreign material in the reticulum.

Rumen The largest compartment with a capacity of 40 to 60 gallons in mature cattle. Serves as a storage area for feed. Millions of bacteria and protozoa break down the feed in the rumen.

Bacteria: Enable ruminants to digest large quantities of roughage Multiply by feeding on material in the rumen Are digested later in the stomach and intestines

The rumen does not develop in the young until they are weaned and begin to eat solid feed

Omasum: A muscular section that squeezes out the water from the feed before it enters the abomasum

Abomasum: Digestive juices cause chemical changes to break down the proteins, carbohydrates, and fats into simpler substances. These simpler substances can now pass into the small intestine for further digestion and absorption into the blood stream.

Regurgitation: Ruminants chew their food just enough to make swallowing possible. After they are done eating, the food is brought back up from the rumen and rechewed.

A NON-RUMINANT IS: An animal having a single compartment in its stomach, which swallows its food after chewing and does not regurgitate. Also known as a monogastric

Examples Include : Pigs Humans Bears Dogs

Monogastrics: Swallow food directly into the single compartment stomach, where it is mixed with digestive juice Are unable to digest large quantities of fiber unless they have an enlarged cecum (horses, rabbits and guinea pigs)

Cecum A blind pouch at the first portion of the large intestine While the rumen is the main place for bacterial breakdown in ruminants, it happens in the large intestine and cecum of the horse and rabbit

The End Presentation by, Angie Bigsby Agricultural Sciences Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo