Comparison of the Digestive System of Cows, Rabbits and Humans

While the Digestive Systems of all mammals remain largely the same, there are a few key differences, especially between Cows, Rabbits and Humans.

Cows

The cow's digestive tract consists of the mouth, esophagus, a complex four-compartment stomach, small intestine and large intestine. The stomach includes the rumen or paunch, reticulum or "honeycomb," the omasum or "manyplies," and the abomasum or "true stomach."

Digestion starts in the mouth, where tough grass and other plants are ground up by powerful molar teeth

The newly created bolus is transported down the esophagus with help of saliva. First, it passes through the Rumen, a large container like stomach with ferments the food. It also deals with the volatile Fatty Acids created during digestion. After that, it travels to the Reticulum. Heavy or dense food and metal
objects eaten by the cow drop into this compartment. After travelling through the Reticulum, it travels to the Omasum which absorbs water and other substances from digestive contents. After that, it travels to the fourth and final stomach, the Abomasum, which is the more like a Humans stomach, where the food is broken down by Hydrochloric Acid and other Digestive Enzymes. After travelling through the 4 stomachs, what is not digested enters the Small Intestine, where it is stripped of nutrients not digested in the stomachs. Finally, it enters the Large Intestine where it is stripped of all remaining moisture before being extracted through the anus. It is worth noting that inbetween the Small and Large Intestine, there is the Cecum, which, other than breaking down fiber, has no other known purpose. The Digestive system of the Cow, while much more complex with the addition of 3 stomachs, is still quite similar to the Human Digestive system, where it passes through the same organs in more or less the same order. It also uses Enzymes to break down food into their base materials like Fatty Acids.

Rabbit

The Rabbits Digestive Track consists of the Mouth, Esophagus, a single Stomach, the Large Intestine, the Caecum, the Small Intestine, the Rectum and the Anus. Unlike other animals, after the food is chewed and sent down the Esophagus, the Stomach does not start digesting the food, but instead stores the food and sterilizes it before it is sent to the Large Intestine. While in the Large Intestine, 90% of the foods Sugar, Protein and Starches are absorbed, and

the Fiber moves on and is sorted. The remaining food for digestion is then sent to the Caecum, which is larger than the Rabbits stomach. The hard waste that bypasses the Caecum is moved through the colon in a circular motion and forms perfectly round hard balls of feces. The cecum is a complicated organ that
redigests the food. It is filled with enzymes and bacteria that breakdown food. Every 3 to 8 hours the cecum contracts and forces the material back into the colon where it is coated with mucus, then passed through the anus and the rabbit eats the cecotrophes directly. The rabbit redigests the cecotrophes to receive even more nutrients from them. The Digestive system of a Rabbit is much different from the digestive system of a Human, mostly because of the involvement of the Caecum and how the Stomach plays a much less vital role in the whole process, only storing and sterilizing the food instead of digesting them.