Today’s Objectives Define a digestive system and what it does Identify parts of the digestive system and their functions Difference between a Ruminant vs. Non-Ruminant vs. Hind-gut Fermenter Identify the difference in digestive systems between Ruminant vs. Non-Ruminant vs. Hind- gut Fermenter Identify parts of the digestive system in a Ruminant vs. Non-Ruminant

Digestive System-What is it? Consists of parts of the body involved in chewing and digesting food Moves the digested feed through the animal’s body and absorbs the products of digestion

Parts of the digestive System Mouth-where the food enters the animals body Esophagus-tube like passage from the mouth to the stomach Stomach-receives the feed and adds chemicals that help in the digestive process

Parts of the digestive system Small Intestine- small tube that splits food molecules and absorbs nutrients Large Intestine-larger in diameter and ends with the rectum Rectum-end of GI tract, place where feces exits body

Digestive System Ruminant vs. Non-Ruminant vs. Hind-gut Fermenter

Digestion in Ruminants

What is a Ruminant? Animals with more then one stomach Chew their cud Cows have 4 Compartment stomachs –Reticulum –Rumen –Omasum –Abomasum

Cattle Digestive System

Reticulum Honeycomb lining Collects hardware (nails, wires, etc.) Stores, sorts, and moves feed back to the esophagus for regurgitation

Rumen Papillae lining Functions as a storage vat Food is soaked, mixed, and fermented Some breakdown of feed through microbial action Absorption of some nutrients

Omasum AKA: Many plies Laminae lining (many folds) Reduces particle size Grinds Roughage Absorption of water

Abomasum Only “true” stomach Feed is mixed with gastric juices Decrease pH from 6 to 2.5 –Denatures protein –Kills bacteria and Pathogens –Dissolves minerals

Digestion in Non-Ruminants

Swine Digestive System

Non-Ruminants Monogastric System Has only one compartment to the stomach Process goes through the –Esophagus –Stomach –Small intestine- duodenum, jejunum, ileum –Large intestine: cecum (appendix in humans), colon, rectum

Hind-gut Fermenter Enlarged Cecum –Acts as a rumen in ruminants –Not as efficient as rumen –Roughage feeds are digested by bacterial action Animal eats less, but more often than ruminants Animal is able to utilize roughages unlike non-ruminants

How digestion works Feed passes from mouth to esophagus then to stomach Partly digested food leaves stomach enters into small intestine –Splitting of foods molecules and absorption of nutrients –Stomach empties contents into small intestine known as the duodenum-jejunum-ileum

How digestion works Small intestine to Large intestine –Colon prevents material in large intestine from moving back to small intestine Cecum-(blind gut) does little for most animals except horses-roughage feeds digested by bacterial action

How Digestion Works Large Intestine-absorbs water and nutrients that is not absorbed by the small intestine –Material that is not digested and absorbed in small intestine passes to large intestine –Adds mucus to enable the material to pass through easily –Empties into the rectum

In Conclusion Ruminants and Non-Ruminants have different digestive systems Why is the digestive system important? How many stomachs does a Ruminant have? Non-Ruminant? What makes a Horse different then other animals? Category