Ruminant Stomach and Intestine Flashcards
What is a ruminant?
mammals that are able to acquire nutrients from plant-based food by fermenting it in a specialized stomach prior to digestion, principally through bacterial actions (stomach fermenter)
- also regurgitate food so it can be chewed again
Where does fermentation occur in the horse?
cecum and ascending colon
What are the four regions of the ruminant stomach?
- Reticulum (stomach with net)
- Rumen (papillary stomach)
- Omasum (stomach with leaves)
- Abomasum (true stomach)
What does the orientation and size of the abdominal viscera vary with?
age and pregnancy
How are the viscera arranged in a newborn calf?
- liver and abomasum are enlarged compared to a 5 year old cow
- enlarged abomasum displaces the liver to the right of the abdomen
How are the viscera arranged in a 5 year old cow?
- the rumen is large and occupies the entire left side of the abdomen
- The liver is pushed cranially by the omasum
How are the viscera arranged in a heavily pregnant cow?
- uterus displaces the rumen dorsally and abomasum cranially
How does the ruminant stomach sit in the cow?
- laterally compressed with the bulk of it displaced to the left (fills right side of abdomen)
- Extends from the diaphragm to the pelvic inlet
- Sometimes caudoventral part extends well over median plane into the right half of the abdominal cavity
What does the parietal surface of the ruminant stomach lay against? Visceral surface?
Parietal surface: is in contact with the left abdominal wall, diaphragm, and floor of the abdomen
Visceral surface: faces the right and is related chiefly to the intestines and the liver
Where are the dorsal and ventral curvatures/ where do they lay?
Dorsal curvature: lies against the diaphragm and dorsal aspect of the abdominal cavity
Ventral curvature: follows the contour of the abdominal floor
What divides the rumen into various compartments?
external grooves on the surface correlate with internal pillars that divide the rumen into various compartments
What are the grooves on the surface of the rumen?
- cranial and caudal grooves
- L/R longitudinal grooves
- Dorsal and ventral coronary grooves
- L/R accessory grooves
What separates the ventral ruminal sac from the caudoventral blind sac?
the ventral coronary groove/pillar
What separates the dorsal ruminal sac from the caudodorsal blind sac?
the dorsal coronary groove/pillar
What is the insula ruminis and where is it found?
A sac located between the right accessory groove and the right longitudinal groove
How does a vet obtain access to the rumen in the ox?
through the paralumbar fossa (left)
Where does the spleen attach in the ox and where is it located?
attached to the craniodorsal aspect of the atrium of the rumen; located in the left hypochondriac region
What is the intraruminal orifice (or intraruminal osteum)
an internal ring that is bound by the right and left longitudinal pillars and the cranial and caudal pillars and is the boundary between the dorsal and ventral ruminal sacs
What is the ruminoreticular fold?
separates the reticulum from the atrium in ruminents
What is found in the dorsal-most layer and ventral-most layer of the rumen?
dorsal = gas bubble ventral = liquid zone
Where is the reticulum located?
at the cranioventral part of the stomach and lies immediately caudal to the left half of the diaphragm