Suborder ruminant representatives. Volatile fatty acids - acetic, propionic and butyric. Evolution and classification of ruminants

12.07.2016

Artiodactyl and equid-hoofed representatives of the fauna have a number of differences and dissimilar features not only in external data and structure, but also in behavior and life in nature. For most schoolchildren, it is rather problematic to distinguish between these two classes of mammals.

Speaking of horses, this family has one hoof, due to which it cannot even be visually attributed to the class of artiodactyls. Therefore, in addition to the theory in textbooks and books on zoology, according to external signs, both horses and various rhinos and representatives of tapirs are classified as equids. In total, there are about 17 species of such animals. Combined all outwardly different animals into one class of odd-toed ungulates, zoologist Richard Owen, having conducted a series of studies in the 19th century.

Signs of artiodactyls

In order to understand what are the distinguishing features of the two classes of mammals, artiodactyls and equids, one should initially determine which families are included in them.

Artiodactyl animals include such representatives of the fauna:

  • ruminants - bulls, sheep, giraffes, deer, bison, pronghorns, as well as antelopes;
  • non-ruminant - pigs, hippos, bakers;
  • calluses, namely camels.

As a rule, the limbs of such animals end in a special case in the form of hooves. A distinctive feature of artiodactyls is the reduced first finger on the limbs, as well as underdeveloped second and fifth fingers. Usually, individuals of this type have large or medium body sizes, as well as an elongated muzzle, if they are ruminants, additional horns.

All the continents of the world are inhabited by artiodactyls, the only exception was Antarctica. Previously, these creatures were not located on the territory of the island of Australia, but thanks to the efforts of man, this “defect” was corrected. Most often, animals of the class of artiodactyls inhabit the steppe and flat areas, tundra, deserts, savannahs. Much less often they can be found in forests and thickets.

The main differences between artiodactyls and equids are in the following points:

  1. Artiodactyl representatives of the fauna have a hoof with a pair of fingers, in turn, equids have a limb with an odd number of fingers covered with a hoof.
  2. In the wild, representatives of the class of artiodactyls are more common throughout the world, their "opponents" for weeks.
  3. In addition, artiodactyl animals have a complicated form of digestion, suggesting a multi-chambered stomach.

Why is a horse equine?

In addition to the horse (donkeys and zebras), the following animals belong to the group of equids: the families of tapirs and rhinos. Initially, such representatives of the fauna were widely distributed everywhere except Australia and Antarctica. As already known, the horse belongs to the equid-hoofed class, as it has a single solid hoof, which is marked and focused on the third toe. The remaining fingers, namely the second and fourth fingers, are so underdeveloped by nature that they do not reach the ground.

The next sign by which a horse belongs to this class of animals is its digestive system. In such creatures, the digestion of food does not take place in the stomach, as many have assumed, but in the large intestine. Due to this, there is no need for such creatures to have a multi-chamber stomach; in their structure, scientists discovered a single-chamber organ. In general, both horses and other equids belong to this category due to the odd number of active "walking" toes.

In addition, there are a number of typical distinguishing features of equids:

  • between the talus and navicular bone, a special additional joint is assumed, due to which the mobility of the limbs decreases;
  • oblong head shape and long upper jaw;
  • there is a wide contact between the lacrimal and nasal bones;
  • the horns are made of keratin;
  • enlarged lower jaw and deepened jaw joint.

According to all the above signs and characteristics, the equine family is a clear representative of the class of equids.

Characteristic features of a horse as an artiodactyl animal

In addition to the above obvious differences between artiodactyl horses and other species of artiodactyl animals, there are a number of secondary characteristics of these noble animals. Such animals lead a more active lifestyle during twilight and night. They feed exclusively on vegetation, namely leaves and herbs, as well as other parts of plants.

In addition, equine animals, namely horses, give small offspring and suggest a long gestation period. Usually during childbirth, individuals give one cub at a time. In captivity, animals can live up to 50 years.

Artiodactyls are a family of mammals. There are 242 species of them.

Due to the fact that these animals have hooves, they are called a detachment of artiodactyls. Such animals usually have two or four fingers.

The artiodactyl order is herbivorous. A detachment of artiodactyls lives in families. Due to natural changes, some artiodactyls carry out seasonal migrations.

Animals such as cats and dogs can prey on a detachment of artiodactyls. Also, people are enemies of artiodactyls. They kill them for meat and skins.

The detachment of artiodactyls is divided into corn-footed, ruminant and non-ruminant. Let us consider in more detail the class of ruminant artiodactyls.

This order of ruminant artiodactyls includes:

giraffe family

The giraffe family includes two species: giraffes and okapi. Let's take a brief look at each type.

giraffes.

The giraffe is the tallest animal that lives in the savannas of Africa.

The growth of a giraffe reaches six meters, and they weigh a whole ton. Its legs are long, and the front legs are longer than the hind legs. The tail is long, reaching one meter. There are bony horns on the head. The eyes are large, and the tongue is very long - 45 centimeters.

They lay down very rarely. Even giraffes sleep standing up. These animals move very fast. Their speed can reach sixty kilometers per hour.

Giraffes live in herds of up to twenty individuals. Life expectancy is fifteen years.

Okapi.

Okapis resemble a horse, but their relative is a giraffe. They have another name - forest giraffe. They live in the mountains and plains of the Republic of the Congo.

This animal has a very interesting coloration: legs like a zebra, that is, in black and white stripes. The muzzle is black with white spots, on top of the horn like a giraffe. Females do not have such horns.

The body is dark brown. The tail is long - forty centimeters. The length of the animal reaches two meters. And the height is almost two meters. They weigh an average of 250 kilograms. The tongue is long and blue, its length is thirty centimeters. The ears are large and sensitive.

Due to the decrease in the number of okapi, they are listed in the Red Book.

deer family.

The deer family includes two genera of deer:

  • Asian deer;
  • Water deer.

Asian deer- These are the smallest ruminant ungulates. They live in the forests of Asia. Their body length reaches seventy centimeters. And the weight does not exceed eight kilograms. Deer have no antlers. The coat color of Asian deer is brown. They lead only a nocturnal lifestyle.

water deer- larger than Asian deer. Their body length reaches one hundred centimeters. Body weight reaches fifteen kilograms. And these deer do not grow antlers either, but the males have long upper fangs. They are nocturnal, like Asian deer. Fur color is brown.

Musk deer family

The musk deer family includes only one genus - the musk deer.

musk deer this is an unusual animal that has fangs. They are located on the upper jaw.

These animals live in the mountains in the north of Russia, as well as in China, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Vietnam, Nepal, Korea.

The length of these animals is small - one meter, and the height is eighty centimeters. The weight of the musk deer does not exceed eighteen kilograms.

This amazing animal eats lichens, epiphytes, blueberry leaves, needles and ferns.

The life expectancy of these animals is very small - five years. And only in captivity they can live no more than twelve years.

deer family

deer family- refers to the order of ruminant artiodactyls that live in America, Europe, Africa.

All the deer family have branched and long antlers, which they shed in winter. In females, such horns do not grow. The horns of males are very heavy, about thirty kilograms. And their length can reach two meters.

The size of deer can be different. Some are as tall as a dog, while others are as tall as a bull.

They feed on deer leaves, shoots of shrubs and trees.

The deer family consists of three subfamilies, nineteen genera and fifty-one species. The most interesting are the following:

  • Red deer are the largest deer. Their weight can reach three hundred kilograms.
  • The white type of deer is the rarest deer with a white color.
  • The American species is white-tailed deer. They live in North America.
  • Siberian breed. It includes the following breeds: Even, Chukchi, Evenki, Nenets,.
  • Pudu is the smallest deer species. His height does not exceed forty centimeters, and his weight is not more than ten kilograms.

Bovid family

The bovid family includes:

  • buffaloes;
  • bison;
  • bulls;
  • Sheep;
  • Goats;
  • Antelopes;
  • Gazelle.

Let's take a brief look at each type.

buffaloes.

The buffalo is a very dangerous animal, especially for humans. Statistics show that more than two hundred people die from this animal every year.

The weight of the buffalo reaches a ton, the height is two meters, and its length is more than three meters.

These animals feed exclusively on grass. Every day they eat twenty kilograms of fresh grass.

Buffaloes have huge horns twisted inwards.

bison.

Bison is a very powerful and strong animal. It is often confused with bison. They reach three meters in length and two meters in height. Weight ranges from 700 to 1 thousand kilograms.

Bison live in western and northern Missouri. These animals live in herds. Their number consists of twenty thousand individuals. The bison feeds only on grass. On the day he eats up to twenty-five kilograms of fresh grass.

The life expectancy of a bison does not exceed twenty-five years.

Bulls.

The bull is an artiodactyl ruminant mammal. There are the following types of bulls:

  • Wild bull - lives in nature, is the predecessor of the domestic bull.
  • Domestic bull - bred by man for milk, meat and skin.
  • Musk ox is the only representative of musk oxen.
  • Tibetan bull. In another way, this animal is called Yak. It differs from other bulls in its coat, which hangs down from the sides and covers the legs.

Sheep.

The ram is a mammal. Its length can reach 180 centimeters, height-130 centimeters, and weight from 25 to 220 kilograms. A distinctive feature of these animals are their horns. They are very large, massive and twisted.

Sheep are divided into the following types:

Goats.

A goat is a ruminant animal. They are domestic and wild. Most goats have beards. Wool, depending on the breed, is short and long. The horns are long and curved backwards.

The life expectancy of goats does not exceed ten years.

Antelopes.

Antelopes are a subfamily of bovids. Their body length ranges from twenty centimeters to two meters.

gazelles.

The gazelle is a small animal that belongs to the antelope subfamily. The length of the gazelle does not exceed 170 centimeters, the height is 110 centimeters, and the spring is no more than 85 kilograms.

The horns of the gazelle are long, lyre-shaped. Their length can reach eighty centimeters.

Basically, these animals live in Africa. Gazelles live in herds of thousands of individuals.

Suborder Ruminant artiodactyls

These are deer, antelopes, wild bulls, etc. These are slender mammals of large or medium size. The skin is covered with thick hair. Most have antlers, but only male deer have antlers.

They feed on grass, leaves, berries, and some - mosses and lichens. There are no incisors on the upper jaw, and most animals lack fangs. The fangs of the lower jaw have the same shape as the incisors and serve to bite off grass. The molars have a folded surface that facilitates the chewing of hard plant food. The stomach is complex and consists of several sections; the plucked grass is moistened in the mouth with saliva and swallowed by the animal without chewing. Through the esophagus, it enters one of the departments, where it is partially crushed, and then burps. Through the esophagus, such food enters the mouth, in which it is thoroughly chewed. Well-chewed food again passes through the esophagus and enters other parts of the stomach, where it continues to be digested under the influence of gastric juice.

Elk- the largest species of deer, body length 250–300 cm, height at the withers 235 cm, weight from 300 to 570 kg. The head is large, with a hook-nosed muzzle, a mobile upper lip; large ears, with which he catches the slightest rustle. The coat is long and thick, the color is dark brown in summer, and somewhat lighter in winter; the legs are also light.

Elk lives in taiga, mixed and deciduous forests with dense undergrowth, sticks to wetlands near forest swamps and reservoirs rich in wetland vegetation. Moose are very dexterous in their movements, they can walk through marshy forest swamps, deep snow, without falling through, as they have long legs with wide cloven hooves, a leathery membrane between the fingers.

The food is varied. In summer, they eat succulent marsh plants, young shoots of trees, leaves of shrubs, and in winter - bark, tree branches, lichens. The movable upper lip helps to capture food.

In spring, in the dense thickets of the forest, the moose cow gives birth to 1–2 calves, which, like all cubs of artiodactyls, can soon follow their mother and feed on young greenery. Moose's enemies are wolves and bears. From them he flees or defends himself with his front legs.

The elk is considered a valuable commercial animal, it is hunted for its meat, valuable skin and horns.

Roe lives in light mixed and deciduous forests, the body length is 100–130 cm, and the height at the withers is 75 cm. This is a very slender animal on long legs, it runs fast. She has a well-developed sense of smell, sight and hearing - all this allows the roe deer to survive in the forest. In the summer it keeps alone, and the rest of the time - in small groups. It feeds on shoots, leaves, buds of deciduous trees, herbaceous plants, often consumes mushrooms, lichens, and berries. In winter, it eats roughage - branches of trees and shrubs.

Roe deer is an object of commercial and sport hunting, its shooting is allowed under licenses.

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The process of raising animals on a farm or homestead is often referred to as fattening. And this is not accidental: the final result depends on the quality of feed, their assimilation and quantity - timely weight gain, achievement of standard indicators. In order for the result of the work to be good, before starting the project, it is necessary to get acquainted with the structural features of the digestive organs of pets and their physiology. A particularly complex system is the stomach of ruminants.

From the mouth through the esophagus, food enters one of the sections of the stomach.

The stomach of this group of inhabitants of a farmstead or farm has a special structure. It consists of 4 departments:

  1. Scar.
  2. Net.
  3. Book.
  4. Abomasum.

Each of the parts has its own functions, and physiology is aimed at the most complete assimilation of feed - obtaining energy and "building material" for the body.

Scar

This is not a true stomach, but rather one of its 3 vestibules, which are called the proventriculus. The scar is the largest part of the gastric system. It is a bag of a curved configuration, which occupies a significant part of the abdominal cavity - almost the entire left half of it and the posterior part of the right. The volume of the scar increases with growth and by the age of six months reaches:

  • from 13 to 23 liters in small animals (sheep, goats);
  • from 100 to 300 liters in large ruminants (cows).

The walls of the scar do not have a mucous membrane and do not secrete enzymes for digestion. They are lined with many mastoid formations, which make the inner surface of the department rough and increase its area.

Net

A small rounded bag, the mucous membrane of which forms transverse folds, resembling a network with holes of different diameters. Digestive enzymes are not produced here, as in the rumen, but the size of the cells allows you to sort the contents and skip only pieces of food of a certain caliber.

Book

Border organ between the proventriculus and the true stomach. The mucosa of the department is grouped into unidirectional folds of different sizes adjacent to each other. At the top of each "leaf" there are coarse short papillae. The structure of the book provides for further mechanical processing of the incoming feed and transit to the next department.

Scheme of the structure of the book: 1 - bottom; 2- entrance; 3-6 - leaves

Abomasum

This is a real stomach with all the functions inherent in this organ. The shape of the abomasum is pear-shaped, curved. The expanded section is connected to the exit from the book, and the narrowed end is smoothly connected to the intestinal cavity. The internal cavity is lined with mucous membranes and has glands of digestive secretion.

Physiological phenomena in the digestion of ruminants

For the full development of the animal, the process of processing and assimilation of feed in ruminants must be constant. This does not mean that you need to constantly fill the feeder. Nature provides for a long period of processing each portion of food in adult ruminants.

The absorption process begins in the oral cavity. Here, the feed is moistened with saliva, partial grinding, and the fermentation process begins.

First stage

Solid and dry food gets into the rumen. A favorable environment for the development of microorganisms has been created here:

  • low oxygen content;
  • lack of active ventilation;
  • humidity;
  • suitable temperature - 38 - 41 ° C;
  • lack of light.

The food fragments entering the rumen are no longer as coarse as in the feeder. Due to primary chewing and exposure to saliva, they become pliable to grinding on the rough surface of the scar epithelium and processing by microbes.

Subjected to these processes, the feed mass remains in the rumen from 30 to 70 minutes. During this period, a small portion of it reaches the desired condition and enters the book through the grid, but the main part undergoes the chewing process.

Phenomenon definition

Chewing gum is the process of repeatedly regurgitating food from the rumen into the mouth in order to increase its digestibility.

The reflex mechanism includes a process that takes place periodically and constantly. It is not all the incoming food that is burped, but its individual portions. Each portion moves back to the oral cavity, where it is again moistened with saliva and chewed for about a minute, then again enters the first pancreatic region. The successive contraction of the fibers of the mesh and the muscles of the scar advances the chewed part of the food deep into the first section.

The chewing period lasts about an hour (approximately 50 minutes), then is interrupted for a while. During this interval, contractile and relaxing movements (peristalsis) continue in the digestive system, but regurgitation does not occur.

Important! The intake of chewed feed into the rumen activates microorganisms, which, feeding on their juices, increase the availability of food for digestion by animals.

The complex assimilation of vegetable proteins is facilitated by the activity of bacteria that constantly live in the sections of the gastric digestion of ruminants. These microorganisms reproduce several generations of their own kind per day.

In addition to participating in the breakdown of cellulose, rumen microorganisms are also the most important suppliers in the ruminant menu:

  • animal protein;
  • many B vitamins - folic, nicotinic, pantothenic acid, riboflavin, biotin, thiamine, pyridoxine, cyanocobalamin, as well as fat-soluble phyloquinone (vitamin K), which affects blood clotting.

This "mutually beneficial cooperation" - the use of the host organism for the vital activity of bacteria and the assistance of this macroorganism in the implementation of physiological processes is called symbiosis - a widespread phenomenon in nature.

Digestion of ruminants is multifaceted: many processes occur simultaneously. Separate portions of food are constantly moving into the grid, which passes pieces of a suitable caliber, and pushes large ones back with contractile movements.

After a period of rest, which lasts for different times for ruminants (depending on conditions, type of feed and type of animal), a new period of ruminating begins.

Important! The chewing process does not stop at night, but, on the contrary, is activated.

The rumen is called the fermentation chamber of the ruminant body, and for good reason. It is in the rumen that 70–75% of the feed, including cellulose, undergoes splitting, which is accompanied by the release of large volumes of gases (methane, carbon dioxide) and fatty (so-called volatile) acids - sources of lipids (acetic, propionic, butyric). The food becomes digestible.

Further processing of food components

Only food particles already sufficiently fermented (by saliva, plant sap and bacteria) pass through the mesh.

Between the leaves of the book they are:

  • additionally crushed;
  • undergo further bacterial treatment;
  • partially lose water (up to 50%);
  • enriched with animal protein.

Here there is an active absorption of volatile fatty acids (up to 90%) - a source of glucose and fats. By the time of exit from the book, the lump of food is a homogeneous (homogeneous) mass.

Unlike other animals, the stomach of ruminants (abomasum) produces juice containing digestive enzymes continuously, and not in response to food intake. During the day, rennet juice containing pepsin, lipase, chymosin and hydrochloric acid is produced from 4-11 liters in sheep to 40-80 liters in adult cows. The continuity of the secretion of rennet is explained by the constant supply of a sufficiently prepared mass of food from the proventriculus.

The quantity and quality of rennet juice directly depends on the composition of the feed. The largest volume and the most significant activity of the secretory fluid is observed after the receipt of fresh grass or hay of legumes, grains, cakes.

In the process of digestion of food in the abomasum, hormones of the liver, pancreas, thyroid, gonads and adrenal glands take part.

The walls of the abomasum, and later the intestines, complete the process of digestion, absorbing previously undigested substances. Undigested residues are excreted in the form of manure. Thanks to deep bacterial treatment, it is a very valuable product of agricultural activity, always in demand on the market and widely used in crop production.

Functions of the gastric departments

The DepartmentFunctions
ScarFermentation, fermentation, creation and maintenance of an environment for symbiotic bacteria, food enrichment, chewing gum, cellulose breakdown, absorption of available substances
NetSorting food pieces
BookTransit + additional grinding of individual particles;

Absorption of water and fatty acids
AbomasumFinal digestion involving internal digestive organs and partial assimilation, transport of food residues to the intestines

Management of ruminant feeding

The harmonious development of livestock directly depends on the correct composition of the feed according to age.

Formation of the digestive organs of young animals

In young ruminants, the cud phenomenon, as well as the chambers of the gastric system, are not formed from birth. Abomasum at this time is the largest chamber of the gastric system. Milk, which is fed to newborns at the beginning of life, enters immediately into the abomasum, bypassing the undeveloped proventriculus. Digestion of this type of food occurs with the help of gastric secretions and partly enzymes from the mother's body present in the product.

To enable the process of chewing gum and the start of the rumen, plant foods and their inherent microorganisms are needed. Usually, young animals are transferred to plant foods from the age of 3 weeks.

However, modern cultivation technologies allow for some forcing the process of laying a typical ruminant digestion:

  • from the third day they begin to include small portions of combined feed in the diet of young animals;
  • offer the calves a small lump of maternal regurgitated food - this very quickly causes the phenomenon of chewing gum;
  • provide a regular supply of water.

Young animals that eat milk should be gradually transferred to plant foods. If the cubs are born during the grazing period, then the mixing of feed in the diet occurs naturally - along with mother's milk, newborns very soon taste grass.

But most of the calving occurs in autumn - winter, so the transfer to a mixed, and then a vegetable diet entirely depends on the owner of the herd.

It is during the period of mixed nutrition that begins:

  • development of all departments of gastric digestion, which is fully formed by the age of 6 months;
  • insemination of the internal surfaces of the scar with beneficial microflora;
  • ruminant process.

General issues of ruminant feeding

The bacterial component of the diet, the species composition of microorganisms changes with the change of food (even vegetable). Therefore, the transfer, for example, from dry feed to succulent feed should also not occur at once, but be extended over time with a gradual replacement of components. A sharp change in diet is fraught with dysbacteriosis, and hence worsening of digestion.

And of course, with any type of feeding, food should be varied. Only if this condition is met, it will ensure the supply of a sufficient amount of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and microelements to the ruminant's body.

The predominance of one type of feed can unbalance the harmonious processes in the body, shift them towards increased fermentation, gas formation or peristalsis. And any strengthening of one of the aspects of digestion will certainly weaken the others. As a result, the animal may become ill.

Important! In addition to fodder, it is of great importance to provide livestock with a sufficient amount of drinking water, even when grazing. Its deficiency slows down digestion, reduces chewing activity and digestibility of feed.

Thus, well-organized nutrition, taking into account the peculiarities of digestion in ruminants, is the key to the proper development of backyard animals and excellent results in their cultivation.

Different species of animals in the process of evolution have formed different abilities to assimilate food of a certain quality. Depending on the nature of nutrition and living conditions, the digestive system also developed in animals. Consider the structure of the gastrointestinal tract of ruminant mammals on the example of the structure of the stomach of a cow.

The specificity of plant foods

Vegetable feeds have a number of features. On the one hand, they are easily available for consumption. However, on the other hand, they are not as beneficial for digestion as feeds of animal origin - vegetable feeds are significantly inferior to them in nutritional value. In addition, such a basic structural component of a plant as cellulose (or fiber) is not broken down in most animals due to the absence of the cellulase enzyme in their digestive juices. This enzyme is synthesized only by bacteria and unicellular, as well as some invertebrates.

Mammals are incapable of this. Therefore, in order for them to use plants as food, animals need the help of symbiont microorganisms.

The use of coarse plant foods for food contributed to the occurrence of some changes in the digestive organs. Thus, in herbivorous mammals there was a change in the dental system, an increase and complication of the digestive system, the formation of proventriculus, caecum.

This can be observed in such representatives of the animal world as horses and rabbits. In their long intestine there is a set of bacteria that partially digest cellulose fibers. But representatives of the suborder of artiodactyl mammals - ruminants - have learned to use the energy stored by plants most efficiently.

Ruminants include such representatives of the animal world as:

  • goats;
  • cows;
  • giraffes;
  • deer and others.

Herbivorous mammals have evolved a stomach adapted to digest plant fibers, and in parallel, the evolution of bacteria and microorganisms that live in the digestive tract. This complex of microorganisms forms an entire ecosystem of bacteria and protozoa that form a symbiosis with the host animal.

The structure of the stomach of a cow

The structure of the stomach in all ruminants (goats, sheep, cows and other cattle) is quite different from the stomachs of other members of the mammalian class. But the stomach of a cow has the most complex structure. A cow has one stomach, but it has 4 sections or 4 chambers:

  • scar;
  • net;
  • book;
  • abomasum.

The first three sections are parts of the esophagus, in fact, we can say that the esophagus is three-chambered. Consider the structure of the digestive system of a cow and the sections of its four-chambered stomach.

Lips, tongue and teeth serve for capturing, tearing and grinding plant foods. The main feeding organ in a cow is the tongue. It is designed in such a way that with its help the cow effectively captures grass, leaves and other grassy feed.

Features of the functioning of departments

The rumen is the largest section of the stomach of ruminants. Here, the primary processing of the digestive mass with enzymes takes place and the breakdown of cellulose by microorganisms occurs. As a result of the processes occurring in the rumen, organic acids, carbon dioxide, methane and water. Acids, carbon dioxide and water are absorbed through the walls of the scar, and methane is excreted from the body during respiration. The scar has a complex structure and 3 separate parts: dorsal, ventral and cranial.

The scar is connected to the mesh - the second section of the cow's stomach. In this department, the processes of fermentation and digestion continue. The walls of the scar and mesh have highly developed muscles. This promotes an efficient nutrient fermentation process. After the accumulation of a certain amount of cellulose fibers in the rumen, its contraction occurs. Indigestible fibers are regurgitated back into the cow's mouth, where they are re-chewed and crushed.

Secondarily chewed food enters the book - the third section of the cow's stomach. This is where water is absorbed, as well as fatty acids and other nutrients. Book connects to the grid with a groove and has thin partitions that look like the pages of a book. That is why this section is named so. Here, the crushed plant mass is exposed to bacteria, and the fermentation process takes place. This allows the cow's body to absorb the maximum amount of fiber from coarse plant foods. Next, the food moves into the abomasum.

Abomasum is the fourth section of the stomach of ruminants, which already differs little from the stomachs of other animals. Digestion here occurs due to the action of acid, as well as the animal's own enzymes.

The stomach of a cow and all ruminants ends with abomasum, but the digestive processes continue in other parts of the digestive system. In the duodenum, the processes of absorption of nutrients that are supplied by microorganisms continue. The part of the food that is not digested enters the large intestine. After that, in the caecum and colon, what bacteria in the stomach could not break down is exposed to the following groups of microorganisms. What is left after exposure to these bacteria is the toughest part of the food and is excreted from the digestive tract.

Thus, the cow's stomach has 4 sections, its structure is complex. Each of the cameras has its own specific function. The process of digestion of food into the stomachs of a cow takes from 8 hours. The stomach is designed in such a way that it allows the most efficient extraction and absorption of nutrients from coarse plant food.

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