Different Types of

Animal Digestive Tract

INTERNAL MEDICINE DIVISION

DEPARTMENT OF CLINIC, REPRODUCTION AND PATHOLOGY
FAC. OF VET. MED. , BOGOR AGRIC UNIV.
 4 Types of Animal Digestive System

 1. MONOGASTRIC,
 2. AVIAN,
 3. RUMINANT, and
 4. PSEUDO-RUMINANT
 All are the four basic types of digestive
systems in animals.
 To select the proper type of feed for animals,
knowledge of these four different types of
digestive systems is critical.
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 Understanding:

 Digestion 
 It is the process of breaking down feed into
simple substances that can be absorbed by the
body.

 Absorption 
 It is the taking of the digested parts of the feed
into the bloodstream.

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 Continued …

 The digestive system consists of the parts of the

body involved in chewing and digesting feed.
 This system also moves the digested feed through the
animal’s body and absorbs the products of digestion
 Different species of animals are better able to digest
certain types of feeds than others.
 This difference occurs because of the various types of
digestive systems found in animals.
 So there are four basic types of digestive systems:
monogastric, avian, ruminant, and pseudo-ruminant.
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 1. Monogastric System
 A monogastric digestive system has one simple
stomach.
 The stomach secretes acid, resulting in a low pH
of 1.5 to 2.5.
 The low pH destroys most bacteria and begins to
break down the feed materials.
 Animals with this type of digestive system are
better adapted to eat rations high in
concentrates.
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 Continued …
 Concentrates are highly digestible feedstuffs that
are high in energy and low in fiber.
 Concentrates are typically 80 to 90 percent
digestible.
 Common concentrates are cereal grains and oil
meals.
 Cereal grains include corn, wheat, barley, and
oats.
 Oil meals include soybean meal, linseed meal,
and cottonseed meal. Examples of monogastric
animals are hogs, cats, dogs, and humans.
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 2. AVIAN DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
 The avian digestive system is found in poultry. This
system differs greatly from any other type.
 Since poultry do not have teeth, there is no chewing.
 Poultry break their feed into pieces small enough to
swallow by pecking with their beaks or scratching with
their feet.
 Feed enters the mouth, travels to the esophagus, and
empties directly into the crop.
 The crop is where the food is stored and soaked.
 Food then moves from the crop to the proventriculus.
  Continued …

 The proventriculus is the stomach in a bird, where gastric

enzymes and hydrochloric acid are secreted.
 From the proventriculus, the food makes its way to the gizzard.
 The gizzard is a very muscular organ, which normally contains
grit or stones that function like teeth to grind the food.
 The food then moves from the gizzard to the small intestine and
then to the large intestine.
 The nondigestible food components then travel into the cloaca.
 Urine is also emptied into the cloaca.
 The material is then passed out of the body through the vent.
 Digestion in the avian system is very rapid.

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 3. RUMINANT DIGESTIVE SYSTEM

 The ruminant digestive system has a large stomach

divided into four compartments—the rumen, the
reticulum, the omasum, and the abomasum.
 The ruminant digestive system is found in cattle, sheep,
goats, and deer.
 Ruminant animals eat feed rations that are high in
roughages and low in concentrates.
 Roughages are feedstuffs that are high in fiber, low in
energy, and typically only 50 to 65 percent digestible.
 Roughages include hay, straw, grazed forages, and
silage.
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  Continued …
 Ruminants are different from monogastric
animals in that they swallow their food in large
quantities with little chewing.
 Later they will ruminate, or belch up the feed,
chew, and swallow it again.
 The regurgitated feed is called a cud.
 A cud is a ball-like mass of feed brought up
from the stomach to be rechewed.
 On average, cattle chew their cuds about six to
eight times per day.
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  Rumen
 The first and largest section of the stomach is the
rumen. In the rumen, solid feed is mixed and partially
broken down.
 The rumen contains millions of bacteria and other
microbes that promote fermentation, which breaks
down roughages.
 The rumen also contains microorganisms that
synthesize amino acids and B-complex vitamins.
 Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins and are
essential for the growth and maintenance of cells.

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 Omasum

 The omasum is the third compartment of

the stomach.
 The omasum produces a grinding action on
the feed and removes some of the water
from the feed.
 Hydrochloric acid and digestive enzymes
are mixed with feed in the omasum.

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 Reticulum

 The reticulum is the second segment of the

stomach.
 The reticulum is a small pouch on the side
of the rumen that traps foreign materials,
such as wire, nails, and so forth.
 Since ruminants do not chew their food
before swallowing, they will occasionally
swallow foreign objects.

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 Abomasum

 The abomasum is the fourth compartment

of the stomach.
 The abomasum is also referred to as the
true stomach because it is similar to the
stomach in monogastric animals.

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  Rumen Microorganisms
 Ruminants rely on microorganisms for the
digestion of roughages.
 The rumen microorganisms are very diverse and
consist of bacteria, protozoa, and fungi.
 Bacteria are the most numerous rumen
microorganisms, at approximately 1 billion
bacteria per milliliter of rumen fluid.
 Bacteria are responsible for most feed digestion
in the rumen.
 They break down cellulose to form volatile fatty
acids (VFAs).
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 Continued…
 The VFAs provide the ruminant with 60 to 80 percent of
its energy needs.
 Protozoa are typically responsible for about 25 percent
of the fiber digestion in the rumen, even though a
ruminant can survive without any protozoa in the
rumen.
 Fungi contribute up to 8 percent of the total rumen
microorganisms.
 Fungi are responsible for the digestion of cellulose and
lignin in more resistant forages, such as barley straw.

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  Continued …

 Feed conversion and rate of gain in a ruminant

are strongly affected by the type and number of
microorganisms in the rumen.
 The rumen must contain the appropriate
proportions of certain types of microorganisms
to maximize productivity.
 For example, it is believed that protozoa can
have a negative impact on protein utilization.

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  Continued …
 The number of protozoa in the rumen is inversely
proportionate to the number of bacteria.
 Therefore, if a ruminant is fed in a manner that is most
conducive to bacteria in the rumen, protein utilization
will be maximized by eliminating or reducing the
number of protozoa in the rumen.
 To illustrate, feeding yeast culture to cattle could help
to ensure a healthy population of rumen bacteria.

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4. PSEUDO-RUMINANT DIGESTIVE SYSTEM

 A pseudo-ruminant is an animal that eats large amounts of

roughage but does not have a stomach with several
compartments.
 The digestive system does some of the same functions as those of
ruminants. For example, in the horse, the cecum ferments
forages.
 An animal with a pseudo-ruminant digestive system can utilize
large amounts of roughages because of the greatly enlarged
cecum and large intestine, which provide areas for microbial
digestion of fiber.
 Pseudo-ruminants often eat forages as well as grains and other
concentrated feeds. Besides horses, examples of pseudo-
ruminants are rabbits, guinea pigs, and hamsters.
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CLINICAL
DIAGNOSTIC OF
SMALL ANIMAL
ABDOMINAL REGION
 Functional Relationship of Organ Systems

Circulation

Excretion Respiration

Digestion

Anatomy : Digestive system consisted of organ that related to

receiving process, mechanical reduction, chemical digestion,
absorption and excretion of undigestible matter
Alimentary tract (canal)

Digestive System organ Mouth anus

Accessory organs (teeth, tongue,

Salivary gland, Liver, Pancreas
 Digestive system and its
accesories
 Do you know my breed ?

Akita Breed
Samoyed Breed
 Gross Digestive System of dogs
 OUTLINES of Digestive System

Physiological Function
Focus on Clinical Digestive System
Spesific Tests (for large Animals)
  PHYSIOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS
(Principles of Clinical Appearance)

Problems in Physiological Main clinical

functions symptoms
 Oropharynx Taste, prehension, Inappeten to anorexia,
mastication, formation of dysphagia, ptyalism,
bolus, fluid intake, halitosis, gagging or
initiation of swallowing pawing of the face
process, soften and
lubricate ingesta,
moisten oral cavity

Continued………….
Esophagus Transport of ingesta,
facilitate aboral
Regurgitation,
persistent
passage of ingesta, bronchopulmonary
prevent reflux symptoms, ptyalism,
through reflexive inability to swallow
relaxation

 Stomach Storage reservoir of

ingesta (temporary),
Vomiting (forceful
ejection of ingesta),
secretes HCl acid and various vomitant =
pepsin rough jellow, fleck of blood,
digestion, secretes coffee juice and clear
mucus lubricate
ingesta, regulate
delivery to Small
Intestine
Continued……..
 Small Digestion and
absorption of
Diarrhea (bulky to
watery), melena or fat,
intestine nutrients, secretes vomiting, weight loss
water and electrolyte,
aboral motility
(segmental and
peristaltic), maintain
local immunity,
produce GI hormons
 Large Absorption of Water
and Electrolytes
Diarrhea very frequent,
feces semi formed,
intestine (proximal colon), mucus in feces, fresh
storage of dry fecal blood in feces,
material, aboral tenesmus, dyschezia,
motility (segmental rectal painful
and peristaltic)
 Normal Canine Oral Flora:
(Saphir DA & Carter GR, 1976: J of Clin Microbiol 3: 344 in Jones’s
Canine
& Feline Gastroenterology)
Aerobic BacteriaIncidence (%)
Streptococcus82
Staphylococcus60
Actinomyces14
E. coli22
Corynebacterium26
Pasteurella22
Caryophanon20
Mycoplasma83
Antinobacter10
Moraxella40
Neisseria20
Enterobacter 2
Bacillus12
Anatomical Structure of Dog
Visceral site
Digestive Tract Function

 Main Function:
 Prehension (how to take)
 Mastication (chewing)
 Deglutition (swallowing)
 Main Activity:
 Digestion
 Absorption
 Excretion
 DIGESTIVE TRACT
DISFUNCTION

 Manifested by one or more activities of :

 Motility
 Secretion
 Digestion
 Absorption
 Diagnosis : Location, Lesion character,
Cause
GASTROINTESTINAL
MOTILITY
 Peristaltyc movement
(start from oesophagus ~ rectum)
 Segmentation movement
(mixing of ingested matter ~ formation)

 Changes of Motility Pattern :

 Hypermotility  diarrhea
 Hypomotility  constipation
THE MAIN FUNCTION OF DIGESTIVE TRACT

 Prehension, namely how to take the feed

 Mastication, how to chew
 Digestion;
 Feed Absorption and Maintenance of
internal environment (balancing) by
judging the number and characteristic of
absorptived feed.
 4 MAIN FUNCTIONS

 It is performed by 4 main parts that

related each other:
 Motoric / Movement Function
 Secretory Function
 Digestive Function
 Absorption Function
  Motoric Function

 It is very important for motility :

- Peristaltic Movement will flow the feed
matter and feces along with digestive
tract (esophagus  rectum);
- Segmentation namely movement by
stirring and mixing the feed matter
- Maintenance of sphincter tonus.
 Abnormality of motoric function:

 Decreasing or increasing contraction.

 Peristaltic movement and segmentation:
 It is regulated by sympathic and parasympathic
nerve stimulations;

 It is depended on central part activity and

periphery system of otonom nerve;
 It is depended on intestine muscles and plexus of
intrinsic nerve.
 Imbalance of autonome nerve function -hyper-
or hypoperistaltic

 It is due to stimulation or disturbances on:

 Hypothalamic center,
 Ganglia or efferent and afferent nerves fiber
peripheral branch.
 General weakness that accompanied by muscle
weakness or severe inflammation.
 In the mild inflammation such as, gastritis or
mild enteritis that causes increasing of
peristaltic activity.
 hyperperistaltic diarrhea
hypoperistaltic  constipation.
 ABNORMAL MOTILITY

Generally can cause:

 Stomach and or
intestine distention
 Gas eructation is not
efectively ~
 Disturbance of lumen
by obstruction/
displacement
SECRETORY DISFUNCTION

 It is very rare in
production animal
 Syndrome can be
recognized from
gastric and
pancreatic secretions
origin, it is usually in
dog and cat
ABSORPTION FUNCTION
 Disturbance can be :
 Any degree of hypermotility
 As a result of injury at mucous membrane
 At enteritis due to viral and bacterial
infections
 Significant damage of mucous membrane
can influence absorption function
 Without hypermotility can be occurred at
helminthiasis
CLINICAL PHYSICAL
EXAMINATION
 EXTERNAL EXAMINATION
 INSPECTION
 PALPATION
 PERCUSSION
 AUSCULTATION
 INTERNAL EXAMINATION
 RECTAL EXPLORATION
 PUNCTION EXPLORATION/BIOPSY
 PERITONEOSCOPY
 RADIOGRAPHY
Diagnostic of Abdominal Region
Abdominal Region can be divided into 3 parts

Dorsal

Medial

Ventral

Epigastric Mesogastric Hypogastric

a b c

Mouth Examination (a,b,c)

  EXTERNAL PALPATION

 In horse and cattle, less information for

external palpation, except there are some
parts of lesion
 Abdominal palpation is more suitable and
informative for dog and cat  It can identify
intra-abdominal organs
 Epigastrium, mesogantrium & hypogastrium
palpation
Profundal palpation
Abdominal Region Palpation

 Epigastrium Palpation
 Pressure test on xiphisternal region (Grunt
Test)  Traumatic Reticulo Peritonitis on
cattle
 Mesogantrium Palpation
 Pressure Test (Boxing Test) on rumen for
measuring of rumen peristaltic (5-8 x/5
minutes)
 Hypogastrium Palpation
 Pregnancy test, urinary problem etc.
Diagram of some organs in abdominal region

Isi usus

ginjal
CA/tumor

uterus

VU

Hati/limpa
Lambung
Other test for Abdominal Region

 Percussion on abdomen only little

information, except tympanic sound on
abdomen
 Undulation test (fluid wave) of abdomen is a
combination between palpation and
percussion on abdomen that contained of
liquid
 Combination of percussion and auscultation
INSPECTION RESULT
 Formation, big (late pregnancy, stomach
distention, liver or spleen neoplasm etc.)
 Big abdominal can be caused by hydrometra
of uterus, urine retention in dog and cat, liquid
accumulation in abdominal cavity ( ascites,
rupture of V.U, exudative peritonitis)
 Enlargement formation of external part
(tumor of abdomen, umbilical abscess in calf,
umbilical hernia in pig, etc.)
Palpation on small animal

 Epigastrium Palpation
 Kidney, Liver, Spleen, Stomach
 Mesogantrium Palpation
 Intestine
 Hypogastrium Palpation
 Large intestine, vesica urinaria, cornua utery
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