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Equine > Nutrition: Anatomy and Digestion > Flashcards

Nutrition: Anatomy and Digestion Flashcards

1
Q

What kind of digestion does the horse perform?

A
  • A non-ruminant herbivore with significant fermentation in the hind gut
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2
Q

What does the horse rely on to break down fibrous materials in their diet?

A
  • rely on microbial populations present in their GIT to break down fibrous portion of their diet
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3
Q

Why is the digestive system of the horse smaller at birth?

A

due to underdevelopment of large intestine

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4
Q

Why might coprophagy be useful? What is it?

A

Coprophagy = eating poop

- possibly useful for bacterial colonization of GIT

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5
Q

Starting from the stomach and ending at the rectum, what are the major features/structures of the horses digestive tract?

A
  • small intestine (duodenum, jejunum, ileum)
  • Cecum
  • Large intestine/Hind gut (Cecum and Large Colon) (sternal flexure, pelvic flexure)…
  • Colon (Ascending and descending)
  • Rectum
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6
Q

What are the characteristics of the horses stomach?

A

Relatively small and rarely empty

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7
Q

How much can a mature horses stomach hold?

A

500kg

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8
Q

Can a horse vomit?

A

Very limited ability to do so

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9
Q

How long does it take food to pass through the horse?

A

23-48 hours

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10
Q

Where does food spend most of it’s time during transit through a horse?

A

the hind gut

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11
Q

How long does food stay in the stomach?

A

30mins - 1.5 hours

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12
Q

What happens to carbohydrates, proteins and fats in the stomach?

A

they mix with digestive enzymes and are partially digested when reach SI

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13
Q

What bacteria are able to survive in the stomach?

A

anaerobic bacteria

- Lactobacillus, streptococcus

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14
Q

What do the bacteria in the stomach do?

A

help digest readily degradable carbohydrates, primarily associated with grain-based food

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15
Q

What causes the pH to fall as food approaches the pylorus?

A

the HCl secretion

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16
Q

What function does the lower pH serve in the stomach?

A

allows the proteolytic activity of pepsin and reduces that of fermentation

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17
Q

What are the three parts of the small intestine?

A

duodenum, jejunum, and ileum

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18
Q

Which part of the SI is not freely mobile?

A

duodenum

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19
Q

What is digested in the SI?

A

location of major digestion of proteins, fats and non-structural carbohydrates

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20
Q

What are the parts of the large intestine or hind gut?

A

Cecum and Colon

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21
Q

What do microbes ferment in the Cecum?

A

fiber

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22
Q

What are the major microbes in the Cecum?

A

cellulolytic, proteolytic, lactate-using and glycolytic bacteria

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23
Q

What is the most comon bacteria in the cecum?

A

Ruminococcus Flavefaciens

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24
Q

What is the microbial content of the cecum like compared to that of the colon?

A

has more cellulolytic bacteria and less starch-utilizing bacteria than the colon –> primary location for fiber digestion

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25
What are increased retention times associated with?
increased digestability
26
What is digestability aided by?
increased passage times through the sacculations, larged volume and the pelvic flexure
27
What do complex contractions and anatomy result in?
the physical separation of courser particles from finer ones and fluid retention
28
What is the pelvic flexure responsiable for?
a selective retention of coarse particles in the cecum and ventral colon. = coarse particles are retained and liquid and fine particles move on to the LDC and right dorsal colon
29
What are the names of the three flexures in the GIT?
- Pelvic flexure - Diaphragmatic flexure - sternal flexure
30
What are the two selective areas of retention?
1. Pelvic flexure | 2. Colonic separation mechanism of the GIT
31
What happens at the colonic separation mechanism of the GIT?
fluid is retained int he right dorsal colon - contractions in the muscular wall of the colon results in fecal ball production and absorption of fluid
32
What non-structural carbohydrates can be absorbed across the wall of the GIT?
- monosaccharides like glucose - simple sugars - starch - fructans
33
Can a horse digest all carbohydrates?
no
34
How are non-structural carbohydrates digested?
hydrolysed in the SI by pancreatic alpha-amylase and brush boarder membrane disaccharides to monosaccharides
35
What are structural carbohydrates?
fibrous portion of plants such as hemicellulose, cellulose, lignin and pectin
36
What are structural carbohydrates made up of?
monosaccharide units joined by Beta bonds which horses cannot break
37
How do structural carbohydrates get broken down?
microbes in the hing gut produce enzymes that break down this fiber into usable components
38
What are the byproducts of microbial digestion of fiber?
short chain volatile fatty acids (VFAs)
39
What can the byproducts of microbial digestion of fiber be used for?
an energy source for the horse
40
What does microbial protein contribute to?
minimally to horse nutrition
41
50% of daily energy requirements come from what?
volatile fatty acids
42
What are some volatile fatty acids?
acetic, propionic, and butyric acids
43
What is the recommended amount of starch to feed horses?
4g starch per kg body weight per meal
44
What happens if the digestive capacity of the Si is reached?
large portion of undigested material enter the colon -> gets fermented by streptococcus -> increase in lactic acid production -> decrease in pH -> disruption of microflora -> decrease in activity of fiber-digesting microbes and decrease in fiber digestion
45
What are some health consequences associated with excess starch?
- lactic acidosis associated with laminitis - colic - diarrhea - stereotypies such as crib-biting and locomotory
46
What is fiber critical for in a horses diet?
providing nutrients and maintaining gut health and reducing other health problems
47
Where are proteins digested ?
in the small intestine and some protein (associated with cell walls) will reach the hind gut and serve as a protein source for microbes
48
How is protein used by microbes?
degraded as amino acids, peptides and ammonia and re synthesized into microbial protein according to the available energy
49
What does the liver do? (3)
1. metabolizes carbohydrates, proteins and fats 2. Breaks down and excretes potentially toxic compounds 3. Large storage capacity
50
What is the anatomy of the liver?
- located in the most cranial part of the abdomen behind the diaphragm - divided into lobes - no gall bladder, continuous flow of bile
51
How does bile enter the duodenum?
at the papilla along with pancreatic enzymes
52
How do most products of digestion pass through the liver?
the hepatic portal vein
53
How does the liver maintain blood glucose levels?
in response to the pancreatic hormones insulin and glucagon
54
What is glycogenesis?
where the liver converts excess glucose into glycogen for storage
55
What is glycolysis?
glucose that is not stored is used to produce energy
56
How does the liver restore glucose levels when they fall in between meals?
1. glycogenolysis: converts glycogen back into glucose | 2. gluconeogenesis: non-sugars such as amino-acids are converted to glucose
57
What does bile do?
- emulsifies fats into smaller globules which can then be broken down further by lipase enzymes
58
What is lipogenesis and when does it occur?
fats are converted for storage in subcutaneous tissue and other storage depots - occurs when there is an excess of fat/energy
59
What is lipolysis and when does it occur?
occurs in adipose cells where stored fat is converted back into glycerol and fatty acids. these are brought to the liver for use as an alternative energy supply. - Occurs when energy is low
60
Where are proteins transported?
to the liver
61
What happens to excess proteins?
1. amino acids converted into fat and stored in fat depots 2. made into glucose for energy by gluconeogenesis - deanimation required to cleave amino acid groups -> ammonia -> urea -> excreted in urine or used by microbes
62
What stores vitamins and minerals?
the hepatocytes
63
What vitamins and minerals are stored by hepatocytes?
vitamins A, B12, D, E, K and minerals like iron and copper
64
Where can glycogen be stored?
in the liver and in muscles
65
What can make up bile?
metabolic wastes and rug products may form part of the bile which can then be excreted from the body through the digestive tract in the feces.
66
What is bilirubin?
the toxic end product of haemoglobin breakdown which is removed via bile

Equine (9 decks)

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