GI Nutrition- Comparative guts

Question 1

What is the biting method for dogs?

Answer 1

Food is seized by incisor and canine teeth then brought into the mouth by jerking movements of the head and jaw

Question 2

What is the biting method for ruminants

Answer 2

use tongues to grab food, swallows grass whole

Question 3

What is the biting method for chickens?

Answer 3

garbs food whole and passes it to the tongue

Question 4

What is the biting method for rabbits?

Answer 4

bite and tear the food quickly so they are able to run off

Question 5

What is the biting method for horses?

Answer 5

lips and incisor teeth cut or tear vegetation by jerking movements of the head

Question 6

Where is the jaw joint in carnivores and omnivores

Answer 6

same plane as molar teeth, so they can only move their jaw up and down

Question 7

Where is the jaw joint in herbivores and humans?

Answer 7

above the plane of molar teeth so jaw can move up and down and left/right

Question 8

What are the incisors like in dogs and cats?

Answer 8

short, pointed and prong-like- used for grasping and shredding - Canines are elongated and dagger like

Question 9

What are the molars like in dogs/cats?

Answer 9

flattened and triangular with jagged edges, function like serrated-edged blades

Question 10

What is the chewing mechanism like in pigs?

Answer 10

crushing and grinding movements, very rapid rate of mastication

Question 11

What is the chewing mechanism like in ruminants?

Answer 11

partial chewing, regurgitation and rumination

Question 12

What are two purposes of chewing?

Answer 12

Break food down so its small enough to swallow and to produce saliva

Question 13

Why is saliva important in cows?

Answer 13

it contains massive amounts of bicarbonate and phosphate which aids microbial growth and therefore fermentation, binds to plant tannins and recycles urea

Question 14

Why is saliva important in horses?

Answer 14

buffers the proximal stomach, source of bicarb and reduces risk of choking

Question 15

Food processing in dogs

Answer 15

they have wider inter-dental spacing, less area for food impaction and stagnation- diets low in fermentable carb and the acids produced by fermentation are buffered by saliva

Question 16

Which animal does not have salivary amylase to break down starches?

Answer 16

Dogs

Question 17

What is the appearance and purpose of the reticulum

Answer 17

honeycomb appearance, grey in colour- mechanical grinding and light grey in colour

Question 18

What is the purpose and appearance of the rumen?

Answer 18

inner surface is covered in papillae, papillae are needed for absorption of bacterial fermentation byproducts

Question 19

What is the purpose and appearance of the abomasum?

Answer 19

glandular, J-shaped, equivalent to monogastric stomach- acid digestion not a holding chamber

Question 20

What is the purpose and appearance of the omasum?

Answer 20

heavy, hard organ that contains ‘leaves’, purpose is water absorption and its used to grind up food particles

Question 21

Function of upper stomach in horses?

Answer 21

Microbial fermentation and saliva buffering (non-glandular) produces VFA’s

Question 22

Function of lower stomach in horses?

Answer 22

Highly acidic, stops fermentation of food- where protein digestion begins, contains a thick mucus membrane (glandular)

Question 23

Function of crop in poultry?

Answer 23

out-pocketing of oesophagus, temporary storage pouch- feed and water stored- allows bird to consume food first and hide from predators

Question 24

Proventriculus

Answer 24

True stomach, Glandular, secretes HCL and enzymes

Question 25

Ventriculus/ Gizzard

Answer 25

Mechanical stomach, grinds food and acts as the birds teeth

Question 26

What is the anatomy of the pigs stomach?

Answer 26

low pH to kill bacteria, mucous to protect from acid

Question 27

What is the anatomy of the dogs stomach?

Answer 27

large holding chamber to contain meal, acidic to break down protein

Question 28

How does the small intestine digest food?

Answer 28

by enzymes, rapidly (digests high calorie feeds)

Question 29

where is the muscular ampulla?

Answer 29

at the end of the ileum, in rabbits its a site of possible impaction

Question 30

What are reabsorbed in rabbits?

Answer 30

VFA’s, amino acids and vitamins digested and reabsorbed from caecotrophs

Question 31

What occurs in the small intestine in horses?

Answer 31

enzymic breakdown of plant cell contents, starch and absorption of glucose, digestion of amino acids and proteins

Question 32

What occurs in the small intestine in rabbits?

Answer 32

Digestion of most nutrients, absorbing microbial protein and minerals from caecotrophs

Question 33

How is the caecum different in rabbits?

Answer 33

Much smaller, fibre is only partially digested- they compensate via caecotrophy

Question 34

What are the anatomical differences in rabbits?

Answer 34

there is a specialised lining ‘haustra’ that acts as a sieve and separates indigestible fibre from soluble fibre

Question 35

What happens to the different particles in rabbits?

Answer 35

large undigestible particles are unfermentable, fibre goes straight to colon and is excreted

Question 36

What are the teeth numbers for a dog

Answer 36

3,1,4, 2 on top and 3,1,4,3 on bottom

Question 37

What are the teeth numbers for a pig?

Answer 37

3,1,4,3

Question 38

When is less saliva produced in cows?

Answer 38

When they are eating good quality pellets/cereals that do not require as much breaking down

Question 39

Which stomach in horses is glandular?

Answer 39

The lower stomach

Question 40

Why should glucose be fermented in the small intestine rather than the large?

Answer 40

Fermentation of glucose causes a build up of lactic acid which can kill off the good bacteria

Question 41

How are dog stomachs adapted for high protein meals?

Answer 41

Very acidic, this allows proteins to become denatured and break down

Question 42

Why can dogs digest carbohydrates?

Answer 42

They do secrete amylase in their pancreas, they have adapted to digest carbohydrates