Ruminant GI Tract Flashcards
Monogastric GI tract
1. Kind of stomach
2. How many compartments?
3. Examples?
4. Diet consists of…
- Simple stomach
- One compartment
- Humans, pigs, cats & dogs
- Low fiber, high protein food
Ruminants
1. Herbivore, carnivore, or omnivore?
2. How many compartments?
3. Fore-gut fermentation vat to digest ____.
4. Diet consists of…
5. Examples?
- Herbivore
- Four compartments
- Digest plants
- High fiber, low protein, & low fat diet
- Cow, deer, Llama, goat, sheep
Why do some species ferment?
So they can gather and store large amounts of food quickly for later chewing and fermentation in safe areas.
This allows for a more complete mechanical breakdown; although it is slower.
Do ruminants have upper incisors?
NO, they have dental pad in place of the incisors
Bovine ruminants chew ___ and have up to __,___-__,___ jaw movements/day
- Chew CUD
- 40,000-60,000 jaw movements/day
T/F: Bovine bite grass when eating
False, they wrap their tongue around the grass to eat. No biting involved.
Bovine use ___ to digest plants and have a ___ relationship with bacteria.
- Fermentation
- Symbiotic
T/F: Bovine produce 13 gallons of gas/hour
True
T/F: Bovine produce 40L of saliva/day
True!
Bovine are…
An animal of the cattle group
What are the four compartments of a ruminants stomach?
- Rumen - fermentation vat
- Reticulum - rumen’s “assistant”
- Omasum - dehydrator
- Abomasum - glandular “true” stomach
Rumen contains ____ and ferments ____.
- Micro-organisms
- Cellulose
Where are VFA’s absorbed? The flora of this region helps w/the absorption!
Rumen!
The rumen is continually having coordinated contractions every ___ to ___ minutes.
1 to 2 minutes
What is the pH of the rumen?
Neutral, so pH is 6-7
- Rumen papillae are…
- They are about ___mm long and ___mm wide.
- These increase the ____ ____ of the rumen to absorb the VFAs produced by the flora.
- Small fingerlike projections
- 5mm long and 3mm wide
- Surface area
Reticulum catches ___ & ___ feed for later rumination. It will also contract for ____.
- Dense & heavy feed
- Regurgitation
Omasum absorbs ___ and dries out ____. This compartment ____ feed particle size.
- Water and dries out Ingesta
- Reduces feed particle size
T/F: Omasum will absorb VFAs
True!
Abomasum secretes ___ and enzymes for ___ digestion.
- HCl
- Chemical digestion
T/F: Abomasum pH reduces down to 2.5
True!
What are the four R’s in rumination?
Regurgitation
Re-mastication
Re-insalivation
Re-swallowing
In regards to ruminant digestion, what is the role of regurgitation?
- Simple: It moves the ingesta from reticulum into the mouth.
- Detailed: It’s role is to create a controlled reverse movement of coarse feedstuffs from the reticulum/rumen via esophagus to mouth for re-chewing (this is cud)
Rumination refers to the processing of…
Feedstuff in the reticulum/rumen, to include fermentation, regurgitation, eructation.
Fermentation is when ___ bacteria breakdown cellulose. ___ are released by bacteria passed to bloodstream thru papillae.
- Anaerobic bacteria
- VFA’s
T/F: During fermentation, the bacteria that is controlled by protozoa produce CO2 & CH4 are produced by them.
True! Bacteria has a symbiotic relationship with this style of digestion!
Constant rumen motility
FINISH
Rumen Fluid Eval:
1. Bacteria digest ___.
2. Protozoa control ____ population.
3. Fungi aid in ____ digestion.
- Digest cellulose
- Over 200 species of bacteria in rumen! - Control bacteria population
- They prey on the bacteria - Aid in cellulose digestion
- Very low numbers in the rumen
Eructation:
1. Belching is…
2. Purpose of belching
- Belching is expulsion of gas from the rumen
- The rumen vat system produces about 600L of gas in an adult cow/day.
Displaced abdomen (DA)
What is it?
Abomasum normally lies on the floor of the abomasum. But this can become full of gas & rise to the top of the abdomen, causing “displacement.”
- More likely to occur on the left (LDA) than the right (RDA)
Displaced abdomen (DA) causes
1. Calving:
2. Atony of abomasum:
- Calving:
- Likely occurs after as during pregnancy the uterus displaces the abomasum. After calving, abomasum must move back to its position which increases the risk of this. - Atony of the abomasum:
- Abomasum stops contracting, accumulates gas and will “float” up the abdomen due to improper diet.
Displaced abomasum (DA)
1. Symptoms
2. Tx
- Symptoms:
- Loss of appetite
- Drop in milk yield
- Reduced rumination
- Mild diarrhea - Tx
- Req replacing the abomasum in its normal position. Vet may tackle it to the body wall.
- Sx, but not always necessary. Normally it can be fixed by casting & rolling onto Px back. Abomasum will “float” back into place.
T/F: RDA is less serious than LDA
(DA: displaced abomasum)
False! RDA is more serious than LDA.
RDA tends to have more torsion and compromise of blood vessels.
How can we prevent displaced abomasum from happening? (7)
Prevention should be aimed at ensuring dry matter is maintained in early lactation:
1. Ensure cattle are not too fat at calving (>3.5 BCS)
2. Feed high quality feeds & good forage
3. Feeding a total mix ration as opposed to concentrates
4. Give plenty of space at feeding sites
5. Minimize changes between late dry & early lactation ration
6. Prevent and promptly treat diseases like:
- Milk fever, metritis, toxic metritis, & retained afterbirth.
7. Max cow comfort, min stress!
Pigs and cows have a ___ shaped colon on the descending end. This allows them to gather & store ___ quantities of food quickly for later ___ and ____ in safe areas.
- Spiral shaped descending colon
- Large quantities of food
- Fermenting and chewing in safe areas for later
T/F: The spiral colon allows for a more complete mechanical breakdown. This means species with this can utilize less bioavailable foods as energy sources.
True! Slow process, but very thorough as they can consume cellulose and get something out of it!
