E M OF R U MI NA N T S

DIGESTIO N SYST
DIGESTION SYSTEM OF CATTLE
DIGESTION SYSTEM OF GOAT
Digestion
it is the processes taking place in the alimentary tract of an anim
whereby feed stuffs are broken down and separated into valuable par
absorbable by the body and undesirable portions that are eliminated
waste.
THE FOUR CHAMBERS STOMACH OF RUMINANTS
outh The mouth is the beginning of the digestive tract; and,
act, digestion starts here when taking the first bite of food
Prehension – the act of bringing the feed into the mouth.
Mastication – in which the feed first receives partial and rapid grinding
the molars followed by a slow, but thorough crushing when the feed in
paunch has been regurgitated.
Secretion of Ptyalin – an enzyme which acts in an alkaline medium and
anges the starches and sugars into maltose.
om the mouth the feed is led into the paunch or other stomach
ambers through the esophagus.
Stomach
. Carabao has a compound stomach consisting of four compartments.
. The four compartment of the stomach of the carabao are:
i. rumen or paunch
ii. reticulum or honeycomb
iii. omasum or manyplies
iv. abomasum or true stomach
. A common canal, the esophageal groove, connects the first three
ompartments, the feed and water being led into one of these organs by
means of blind opening common to all.
RUMEN
1. Is the first chamber into which the feed from the mouth is led.
2. It is the largest stomach compartment, having the capacity of 89.6 liters.
3. The feed which has received preliminary mastication in the mouth is soaked and
churned in this organ thereby softening the cell walls so that during remastication the
plant tissues are more readily disintegrated.
4. In the rumen, the fiber undergoes bacterial action rendering it available to the
animal body.
5. A part of its fermentation products consists of gases, which if produced in excessive
quantities, may cause bloating of animals.
6. In the rumen the ptyalin carried by the saliva continues to digest the more soluble
carbohydrates which it comes in contact.
7. The lower part of this organ is filled with liquid material which contains feeds which
have become fully saturated with water and will no longer float. In the upper portion
the feed is merely in a moist condition.
RETICULUM
1. The second stomach is the reticulum, having a capacity of 4.9 liters.
2. The feed contained in this chamber is more fluid than that in the lower region of th
rumen.
3. Upon contraction of its walls the liquid in it overflows into the upper portion of th
rumen causing the feed coming from the mouth to the washed backward.
4. Conversely, within the walls of this organ relax the suction force created causes th
feed in the rumen to be drawn into the reticulum.
5. Foreign substances like nails, wire, and the like, are lodged in this organ. Shar
pointed objects may penetrate its wall and if in the direction of any of the vital organ
the injury that it inflicts may kill the animal.
6. From the reticulum coarser feeds may be sent back into the rumen or directly in
the rumen or directly into the esophagus to the remasticated in the mouth while fin
particles of feed are transferred into the third and fourth compartments.
7. In both the rumen and reticulum the feed receives mechanical and physical actio
by being soaked and broken down into simpler forms through constant agitation b
alternate contraction and relaxation of the wall muscles of the organs.
OMASUM
1. Of the feed coming from the reticulum the coarser kind finds its way into th
omasum where it is reduced to pulp between the leaf – like arrangement of its wal
before it is released for action by the digestive juice of the abomasum.
2. The omasum has a capacity of 4.3 liters.
ABOMASUM
1. It is the second to the rumen in size, its capacity being 14.3 liters.
2. Of the four compartments, it is only in this one that digestive substances are secreted
The juice contains pepsin, rennin and hydrochloric acid.
3. Pepsin is an enzyme which acts on raw proteins changing them into secondar
products of protein digestion, known as proteoses and peptones.
4. Rennin is also an enzyme; it is particular function is to hold the milk of the calf in th
abomasum for a relatively long period of time for greater action by pepsin. This i
made possible by changing the casein of milk by lime into an insoluble calcium salt, o
coagulum.
4. Hydrochloric acid is useful in maintaining an acid medium necessary for pepsin t
act. It also softens plant tissues and has an antiseptic action.
 RUMINATION, or “CHEWING THE CUD”

1. All ruminants like the carabao, cow, sheep, goat have the special faculty of returning
partially masticated feed into the mouth for thorough grinding known as rumination, or
chewing the cud.
2. The animal is at its best within ruminating on its sternum. This action takes place during
about one – third of the 24 hours.
3. The processes by which the feed is brought back to the mouth may be described as
follows:
i. During rumination the diaphragm separating the chest cavity from the abdominal
region is suddenly extended backward causing the lowering of pressure inside that portion
of the esophagus within the chest cavity.
 ii. In this way a partial vacuum is created in the esophagus, which sucks the fee
coming from the reticulum as the walls of this compartment contract to send up the fee
into the opening of the esophagus terminating at the rumen. As the walls of th
esophagus are drawn together the surplus liquid of the feed is squeezed out an
returned into the stomach compartments leaving the solid material in it to b
regurgitated in the mouth.
iii. The importance of water in rumination may be deduced from the fact that b
withholding it from 24 to 72 hrs. The animal cease to chew their cuds.
iv. Water is also a remedy for restoring lost tonicity of the walls of the rumen in case
of impaction.
v. Besides water there must be a certain amount of feed in the rumen before a
animal will ruminate. Likewise, plenty of course material to stimulate the walls of th
rumen and honeycomb is necessary to arouse rumination.
 SMALL INTESTINE
1. The ruminant has a longer small intestine than the horse but the opening is small.
2. In carabao the length of intestine is 25. 7 meters and the outside circumference of the
duodenal region when distened is 15.5 cm.
3. Its capacity is 28.2 liters.
4. The three divisions of the small intestine are the:
a. duodenum
b. jejunum
c. ileum
5. The duodenal parts is contiguous to the abomasum.
Into this portion of the bowel are poured the bile and the pancreatic juice.
6. Besides, in the mucus membrane of the small intestine are to be found such enzymes
as:
a. enterokinase
b. erepsin
c. invertases
7. The intestine are also supplied with a viscous fluid from the different glands
scattered throughout the tract. The juice secreted in the intestine is called succus
entericus or intestinal juice.
8. As the acid feed or chime coming from the abomasum pours into the small intestine
a substance known as secretin becomes active and enters the blood circulation to
stimulate the pancreas to secrete the pancreatic juice.
9. Secretin is a hormone, w/c may the defined as a substance formed in one organ and
upon entering the blood circulation travels into another organ w/c it stimulates to
secrete its juice.
10. The pancreatic juice contains 3 enzymes.
1. Trypsin- secreted in an inactive form but is activated by another enzyme in the
intestine called enterokinase. Trypsin acts on all classes of proteins changing them
ultimately into amino acid.
2. Amylase- which acts on starch and sugars changing this into maltose.
3.Lipase- an enzyme which acts on facts breaking this into fatty acid and glycerin.
11.Erepsin also digests proteins but acts only on secondary products of protein
cleavage, such as proteoses and peptones, which are changed into amino acids.
12.The invertases consisting of;
1.sucrose 2. maltose 3. lactose
~all have similar function of converting compound sugar into a simple form like
glucose.
 THE BILE
1.From the gall bladder attached to the liver a greenish fluid known as bile is ejected
into the small intestine.
2.The substance contains salt which combine with the fatty acids produced from fats to
form soap.
3.It also emulsifies the fat and oil content of feeds thereby exposing the globules to
greater action by the lipase.
4.Taurochloric acid which is found in the bile, is claimed to stimulates the peristaltic
contraction of the intestinal walls.
 THE CECUM
1.When distended the cecum of the carabao is 41.5 cm. long and 39.5 cm.
wide at its largest circumference.
2.It has a capacity of three and five-tenths liters.
3.The ileo - cecal value is so effective that when the cecum of the laboratory
specimen is fully distended the value does not permit any water to pass out.
 THE LARGE INTESTINE
1.The total length of the large intestine in the carabao is 9.6 meters. Its
aggregate capacity is 22.8 liters.
2.The large colon is 89 cm. long w/ an outside circumference is 29.5 cm.
Within it is distended. Its capacity is 8.7 liters.
3. There are four sacculations in this small colon is 8 m long and within
distended its outside circumference is 16 cm. Its capacity is 9.1 liters. The
length of the rectum is 75 cm and at its largest circumference its diameter
is 44.5 cm, when distended. The capacity of this region of the large intestine
is 5 liters.
4. In the large bowel, bacteria act on the fibrous material of the feed.
 ABSORPTION
1. The greatest absorption of the feed nutrients takes place in the intestinal
tract, particularly in the small intestine.
2. The carbohydrates are absorbed in the form of amino acids.
3. In the case of fats, the belief is that the fatty acids produced from its
digestion combine with the base in the intestine to form soap.
4. Both soap and glycerin pass through the intestinal membrane but the
soap is changed back into a base and fatty acids, the latter recombining
with glycerin to form fat of the blood circulation.
5. It is supposed that some of the fatty acids and glycerin produced are
absorbed directly as such without forming soaps.
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