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The process of digestion
begins when the cow takes plant material into its mouth. Since cows
do not possess upper incisors, they cannot chew food as most animals do.
Instead, they use their lips and tongues to move food around and tear it
with the lower incisors (Welch and Hooper, 1988). The cows form boluses
of food that are mixed with saliva. They swallow the boluses, which
pass through the esophagus to the rumen
(Ferguson, 1985). The rumen breaks down the food by exposing it to
microorganisms inhabiting this compartment.
From here, the food passes to the reticulum where
more boluses are formed and regurgitation occurs
(Kent, 1996). Once the food makes it through the reticulum it goes
to the omasum, a temporary holding compartment
(Kent, 1996). It then enters the abomasum,
or true stomach. This section performs functions similar to the human
stomach. After food passes through the abomasum, it moves to the small
intestine. At this point the digestive process operates in the same
way as non-ruminant digestion. |
