Rabbit A&P Flashcards
Rabbits are?
Rabbits are?
.The rabbit is an obligate herbivore. They cannot deal with anything other than plant materials.
.Because of this plant-based diet their intestine is considerably longer than many other animals.
Rabbit cardiac sphincter?
Rabbit cardiac sphincter?
.The rabbits’ digestive system does not have a cardiac sphincter, so they are unable to vomit.
Caecotrophy?
Caecotrophy?
.What they do is consume the first passing of faecal pellets which are mucous-covered (to aid swallowing) and called caecotrophs.
.These pellets re-enter the digestive process and with bacterial fermentation a lot of nutrients are extracted because the nutrients broken down in the caecum can’t be absorbed there, so they need to be sent out the body, so the rabbit can eat the caecotrophs to get the nutrients (protein & b, c vitamins) absorbed by the small intestine.
.They are ovoid in shape, dark brown, covered in mucous, arranged in clusters and softer than faeces.
.A caecotroph is what is made inside the rabbit’s caecum. It is made from the digestible material that the colon has separated from the non-digestible material and it is sent to the caecum where the cellulose of the plant is broken down then it is sent back to the colon to be excreted as a caecotroph which is then eaten by the rabbit so it can gain the nutrients not gained the first time.
Rabbit caecum?
Rabbit caecum?
.This is the largest organ of the digestion system and is between the appendix and large intestine.
.The caecum (“see-cum”) is the largest and most important in terms of nutrient extraction.
.Its function is to produce the enzyme cellulase to break down the cellulose in plant cells and turn them into digestible nutrients called caecotrophs so they can be passed out of the anus and then eaten by the rabbit to get the nutrients the rabbit didn’t receive the first time. It covers the caecotrophs with mucous so when they are eaten by the rabbit, they are protected from the stomach acids so the rabbit can gain the nutrients from them.
.Its importance is to process digestible fibre and proteins sent from the colon by breaking them down to get the nutrients from them.
.The caecum is very large compared to other organs in the rabbit’s digestive system like the stomach, small intestine and colon. Its importance is to process digestible fibre and proteins sent from the colon by breaking them down to get the nutrients from them. The caecum turns the digestible material into small clumps similar looking to faeces called caecotrophs. Once the caecotrophs are made, they are then removed from the body for the rabbit to eat so they can be digested back into the small intestine to get all the nutrients from them not received the first time. It does have an influence on their excretions as it is part of the process for caecotrophs which comes out the same as faeces but is not faeces and is eaten again by the rabbit to gain nutrients.
Rabbit urine?
Rabbit urine?
.Lagomorphs excrete calcium in their urine making it a thicker, creamy, sometime paste-like substance rather than a watery liquid.
Rabbit digestive tract parts?
Rabbit digestive tract parts?
.Teeth, tongue, oropharynx & salivary glands .Oesophagus .Cardia - stomach opening .Stomach .Pylorus - stomach exit .Liver .Pancreas .Duodenum, jejunum & ileum .Sacculus rotundus - exit of small intestine .Caecum .Appendix .Colon .Anal glands .Rectum
Rabbit teeth?
Rabbit teeth?
.These are thecodont teeth, so they are set in the jaw and there are 28 permanent adult teeth in the rabbit.
.Their function is to chew up food into smaller pieces to be able to swallow. They are open rooted and continue to grow throughout their life so they need hard material to wear them down.
.The front teeth are incisors and there are two in the upper and two in the lower jaw. There are two teeth behind the upper incisors called peg teeth. After the incisors there is a gap called the diastema and behind this is 22 upper and lower premolar and molar teeth.
.Rabbits do not have canine teeth because they are herbivores so, they do not need canine teeth to break into meat. They do have incisors, premolars and molars for nibbling food.
Rabbit salivary glands?
Rabbit salivary glands?
.These are glands which make saliva. Their function is to keep the mouth and parts of the digestive system moist to help with transporting food.
.The main salivary glands are parotid, mandibular, sublingual & zygomatic. They produce salivary amylase which begins to digests starch in foods making it into maltose a sugar to help with digestion.
.There is another enzyme called galactosidase (lactase) that breaks down lactose.
.The saliva is important to the rabbit as it prepares food for digestion by softening it lubrication and keeps the mouth and parts of the digestive system moist.
Rabbit Cardia?
Rabbit Cardia?
.Opening to the stomach. Help keep food from not moving back up from the stomach to the oesophagus, so they will not vomit.
.The cardia in rabbit’s is more developed than the cat and dog’s because the muscles are stronger stopping food from being moved back up the oesophagus making them unable to vomit.
.The cardiac and pyloric sphincters in the rabbit are well develop and help keep the food from the stomach moving back up to the oesophagus making the rabbit unable to vomit.
Rabbit stomach?
Rabbit stomach?
.It breaks down the food into small chemical units. It does this by acid & enzymes & muscular movements breaking down the compounds to smaller sizes by the process called hydrolytic and enzymatic digestion.
.Hydrochloric acid is important because it decreases the pH of the stomach which lets enzymes work the stomach. Enzymes are suited to a low pH and it also kills bacteria found in food.
.The enzyme pepsin is important because it breaks down proteins.
.The enzyme amylase NOT in the stomach is important as it helps break down fibre and carbohydrates in plant material.
Rabbit small intestine?
Rabbit small intestine?
.The small intestine is long in the rabbit.
.Duodenum - its function is to get intestinal and pancreatic juices to continue digestion and send the food to the jejunum. The pancreatic juices are rich in enzymes that help digest carbohydrates, proteins and fats.
.Jejunum – This is the second part of the small intestine. It absorbs the nutrients from food and sends it to the ilium.
.Ilium – This is the last part of the small intestine. It also absorbs the nutrients from food and carries the chemical units through the intestinal wall into the blood and go to the liver.
Rabbit sacculus rotundus?
Rabbit sacculus rotundus?
.Is an enlargement of the large intestine and thickening of its walls.
.Function is to move the food from the small intestine to the large intestine.
Rabbit colon?
Rabbit colon?
.Its function is to sort the fibre into digestible and indigestible material and absorb water plus water-soluble vitamins.
.It forms the indigestible material into hard round droppings to be excreted and the digestible material is sent back into the caecum to be made into caecotrophs to be excreted and then eaten to get the nutrients they did not receive the first time.
Rabbit appendix?
Rabbit appendix?
.Is large and is at the end of the caecum. Its function is to help the caecum by supplying it with good bacteria by secreting an alkaline fluid rich in bicarbonate ions.
Pancreas?
Pancreas?
. Is a exocrine & endocrine gland next to the duodenum.
.The exocrine part produces digestive juices that are rich in enzymes to be sent to the duodenum for breaking down nutrients.
.The endocrine part produces insulin to release glucose from the blood to the tissues for energy.
