The Ruminant

Digestive System
(Day 2)

Created by: Arlene Barrett, Dennis Bratton, Mariah Gumphry, Haley Vrazel
Objectives
 Define the functions of ruminant animals.
 Analyze ruminant digestive system.
 Analyze the first two components of the digestive system of
ruminant animals.
Ruminant Digestive Systems
 Functions of the digestive system of animals
include:
 ingestion (eating)
 chewing (mastication)
 swallowing (deglutition)
 absorption of nutrients
 elimination of solid wastes (defecation)
Ruminant Digestive Systems
 The digestive system changes food nutrients
into compounds that are easily absorbed into
the bloodstream.
 Ruminant Digestive Systems
 Ruminants are those animals that contain a multi-
chambered digestive system (polygastric) that
allows the animal to gain the majority of their
nutritional needs from forages and other
roughages.
 cattle, sheep/goats, deer and elk
 Forage refers to grasses, roughages refers to other high-fiber
food sources.
Ruminant Digestive Systems
 The digestive tract extends from the lips to the
anus. It includes the mouth, pharynx,
esophagus, stomach, and the small and large
intestines.
 Accessory glands include the salivary glands, the
liver, and the pancreas.
 Pancreas
Rectum Pharynx

Ruminant Digestive Systems

Kidney
Liver Esophagus
Cecum

Teeth

Anus Picture of digestive system of cow

Tongue
Colon Reticulum
Salivary
Rumen Gland
Small Intestine Omasum

Abomasum
 Ruminant Digestive Systems
 The digestive system of ruminant animals includes
the:
 Mouth - grasps the food
 Teeth - grind the food
 Ruminants have only one set of teeth in the front of the
mouth (incisors), and two sets in the back (molars).
 Tongue - covered with finger-like projections
(papillae) that contain taste buds.
 Salivary glands - secrete saliva, that moistens food
and is mixed with the food material to aid in
swallowing.
Ruminant Digestive Systems
 Pharynx - funnels food into the esophagus,
preventing food material from entering the
lungs.
 Esophagus - food tube that leads from the
mouth to the stomach.
Ruminant Stomach
 Compartment Capacity
 Reticulum 5% of capacity
 Rumen 80% of capacity
 Omasum 7% of capacity
 Abomasum 8% of capacity

11
 Ruminant Digestive Systems
 At this point, ruminant animals have a multi-
chambered “stomach”
 Reticulum - honeycomb-like interior surface, this part helps to
remove foreign matter from the food material.
 Esophagus empties here
 Prone to hardware disease
 Cattle swallow small pieces of metal
 Can irritate or pierce the lining
 Helped by putting a small magnet into the reticulum
 Holding area for food; also site of regurgitation
Reticulum - cleaned
 Ruminant Digestive Systems
 Ruminant animals grasp mouthfuls of food and
swallow it before it is chewed.
 They wrap their tongue around a mouthful of grass,
clamp down their teeth, and pull to break the grass at
its weakest point, and swallow.
 Ruminants will “chew their cud” (regurgitate) their
food material and then grind it with their molars at a
time when the animal is resting.
 This is done until the food particles are small enough
to pass through the reticulum into the rumen.
 Ruminant Digestive Systems
 Rumen - the organ that allows for bacterial and chemical
breakdown of fiber.
 The rumen has a very thick, muscular wall
 It fills most of the left-side of the abdomen
 Looks like carpet due to papillae lining it
 Fermentation vat
 Primary digestion site for ruminants
 Microbial digestion takes place here
 Breakdown cellulose, simple sugars, and Nitrogen containing
compounds like protein
 Physical mixing and breakdown
 Not active in the early stages of life
Papillae in Rumen
Summary
 Define the functions of ruminant animals.
 Analyze ruminant digestive system.
 Analyze the first two components of the digestive system of
ruminant animals.
Resources
 Resources: Rakowitz-McMillian Sam Houston
State Univeristy Animal Science Note Packet