Equine Digestive Tract Anatomy: foregut Flashcards
how an animal is fed is dependent on…
first on what is available and the anatomy of the digestive system
horses flourished in america
because of the environment, they did not flourish in other countries because good feed wasn’t available and intestinal parasites were abundant
horses digestive system
long esophagus, small stomach (acidic), hindgut fermentation in the large and functional cecum
ruminant digestive system
foregut fermentation in rumen, leftover nutrients are absorbed in true stomach (abomasum)
human digestive system
hindgut fermentation, no functional cecum
pig digestive system
no functional cecum, hindgut fermentation, grain based diet
cellulose
50% carbon, structural carbohydrate, not available to mammalian enzymes
cellulase
bacterial enzyme necessary for the breakdown of cellulose (cellulytic bacteria)
efficiency of cellulose breakdown
dependent on size of fermentation vat
end product of fermentation
energy, short chain VFA
crainial fermentation
ruminants
caudal fermentation
horses
process and outcome of fermentation
identical in rumen and cecum
position of fermentation vat in relation to small intestine
important in animal’s physiology and digestion
horse
fermentation after small intestine
cow
fermentation before small intestine
digest cellulose
both ruminants and cecal digestors
directly utilize dietary hexose (glucose)
ruminants don’t, cecal digestors do
ruminant utilization of glucose
first utilized by bacteria, digest and absorb short chain fatty acids
cecal digestors utilization of glucose
mostly digested and absorbed in foregut
utilize microbial protein
ruminants can, cecal digestors can’t
ruminant utilization of microbial protein
microbial protein absorbed because fermentation is before the small intestine
cecal digestor utilization of microbial protein
microbial protein is excreted in feces, VFA absorbed in large intestine
microbial protein
ruminant microbes washed down through tract and digested and absorbed
