cow digestive system diagram Archives A Plus Topper

In the case of cows, they are an animal with 4 different stomach compartments. The parts of the cow's stomach are the rumen, reticulum, omasum and abomasum. Within these different cavities, the food is fermented to extract nutrients, digested, stored and separated.. These different parts of a cow's stomach are highlighted in the diagram below:. The microbes that pass into the abomasum and small intestine are digested and provide a source of protein for the cows. The rumen and reticulum together can hold 50-120 litres of food and fluid. Image: Dissection highlighting the rumen in a sheep, Dr Sarah Pain, Massey University. Reticulum. The reticulum is not physically separated from the.

Feed does not just "sit" in the rumen. There is continuous mixing of rumen contents as digestive tract muscles contract. The mixing action helps expose food to microbial action and pass digesta through the system. Rumen Microbes. Rumen bacteria have been classified according to the type of food they utilize or the end products they producee.. Again, the rumen of the compound stomach has 4 compartments or sacs - dorsal, ventral, cauda-dorsal blind, and caudo-ventral blind sacs.. The organs from the mouth to the last part of the large intestine are identified in the labeled diagram. Cow tongue labeled diagram also shows the different anatomical features.