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Ruminant

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	Ruminant
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	Topics Ruminant Topic Home Physiologically, a ruminant, is a mammalMammal The mammals are the class of vertebrate animals characterized by the presence of mammary glands, which in females produce mi... of the order Artiodactyla that digests plant-based food by initially softening it within the animal's first stomach, known as the rumenRumen The rumen, also known as the fardingbag of paunch forms the larger part of the reticulorumen, which is the first... , then regurgitating the semi-digested mass, now known as cudCud Cud is a bolus of semi-degraded food regurgitated from the reticulorumen of a ruminant.... , and chewing it again. The process of again chewing the cud to further break down plant matter and stimulate digestion is called "ruminating". Ruminating mammals include cattleCattle Cattle are domesticated ungulates, a member of the subfamily Bovinae of the family Bovidae.... , goats, sheep, giraffeGiraffe The Giraffe is an African even-toed ungulate mammal, the tallest of all land-living animal species.... s, American BisonAmerican Bison The American Bison is a bovine mammal that is the largest terrestrial mammal in North America, and one of the largest wild ... , European bisonWisent The Wisent or European Bison is a bison species and the heaviest land animal in Europe.... , yakYak The yak is a long-haired humped domestic bovine found in Tibet and throughout the Himalayan region of south central Asia, as... s, water buffaloBubalus *Bubalus* is a genus of bovines, the English name of which is buffalo.... , deerDeer A deer is a ruminant mammal belonging to the family Cervidae.... , camelCamel Overview Camel refers to either of the two species of Camelid.... s, alpacaAlpaca The Alpaca is a domesticated breed of South American camel-like ungulates, derived from the wild vicua.... s, llamaLlama Overview The llama is a large camelid that originated in North America and then later on moved on to South America.... s, wildebeestWildebeest The wildebeest , also called the gnu , is a large hooved mammal of the genus Connochaetes, which includes two spe... , antelopeAntelope Antelopes are a polyphyletic group of herbivorous African and Asian animals of the family Bovidae, distinguished by a pair o... , and pronghornPronghorn The Pronghorn is the only surviving member of the family Antilocapridae, and the fastest land animal in North America runnin... . Taxonomically, the suborder RuminantiaRuminantia The biological suborder Ruminantia includes many of the well-known large grazing or browsing mammals: among them cattle, goa... includes all those species except the camels, llamas, and alpacas, which are TylopodaTylopoda Tylopoda is a suborder of the mammalian order Artiodactyla, containing some families, like the Camelidae, Oromerycidae, Pro... . Therefore, the term 'ruminant' is not synonymous with RuminantiaRuminantia The biological suborder Ruminantia includes many of the well-known large grazing or browsing mammals: among them cattle, goa... . Explanation Ruminants have a fore-stomach with four chambers. These are the rumenRumen The rumen, also known as the fardingbag of paunch forms the larger part of the reticulorumen, which is the first... , reticulumReticulum (anatomy) Summary The reticulum is the second chamber in the alimentary canal of a ruminant animal.... , omasumOmasum The omasum, also known as the manyplies, is the third compartment of the stomach in ruminants.... , and abomasumAbomasum The abomasum is the fourth and final stomach compartment of the stomach in ruminants.... . In the first two chambers, the rumen and the reticulum, the food is mixed with saliva and separates into layers of solid and liquid material. Solids clump together to form the cud (or bolusBolus Bolus can refer to:In medicine, a bolus* is a large dose of a medication that is given to raise blood-level concentra... ). The cud is then regurgitated, chewed slowly to completely mix it with saliva and to break down the particle size. Fiber, especially celluloseCellulose Cellulosenis a long-chain polymeric polysaccharide carbohydrate, of beta-glucose .... and hemi-cellulose, is primarily broken down into the three volatile fatty acidsVolatile fatty acids Volatile fatty acids are fatty acids with a carbon chain of six carbons or fewer.... , acetic acidAcetic acid Acetic acid, also known as ethanoic acid, is an organic chemical compound best recognized for giving vinegar its sour ... , propionic acidPropionic acid Propionic acid is a naturally occurring carboxylic acid with chemical formula CH3CH2COOH.... and butyric acidButyric acid Butyric acid, IUPAC name n-Butanoic acid, or normal butyric acid, is a carboxylic acid with structural formula CH3... in these chambers by microbes. Protein and non-structural carbohydrate are also fermented. Even though the rumen and reticulum have different names they represent the same functional space as digesta can move back and forth between them. Together these chambers are called the reticulorumen. The degraded digesta, which is now in the lower liquid part of the reticulorumen, then passes into the next chamber, the omasum, where water and many of the inorganic mineral elements are absorbed into the blood stream. After this the digesta is moved to the last chamber, the abomasum. The abomasum is the direct equivalent of the monogastric stomach (for example that of the human or pig), and digesta is digested here in much the same way. Digesta is finally moved into the small intestine, where the digestion and absorption of nutrients occurs. Microbes produced in the reticulo-rumen are also digested in the small intestine. Fermentation continues in the large intestine in the same way as in the reticulorumen. Almost all the glucose produced by the breaking down of cellulose and hemicellulose is used by microbes in the rumen, and as such ruminants usually absorb little glucoseGlucose Summary Glucose , a monosaccharide , is one of the most important carbohydrates in biology.... from the small intestineSmall intestine In biology the small intestine is the part of the gastrointestinal tract between the stomach and the large intestine.... . Rather, ruminants' requirement for glucose (for brain function and lactation if appropriate) is made by the liver from propionate, one of the volatile fatty acids made in the rumen . Religious importance In Abrahamic religions, a distinction between clean and unclean animals approximately falls according to whether the animal ruminates. The Law of Moses in the BibleBible The Bible , is the name used by Jews and Christians for their differing canons of sacred texts.... allowed only the eating of animals that had split hooves and swallowed their food multiple times, a stipulation preserved to this day in the KashrutKashrut *Kashrut* or *Kashruth, Kashrus* or "keeping kosher" is the name of the Jewish dietary laws.... . Some believe that the Koran considers a mammal halalHalal Halal is an Arabic term meaning "permissible".... only if it is ruminate. This is not true. See Dhabihah and HalalHalal Halal is an Arabic term meaning "permissible".... . Other uses The verb to ruminate has been extended metaphorMetaphor In language, a metaphor is a rhetorical trope defined as a direct comparison between two or more seemingly unrelated subjects... ically to mean to thoughtfully ponder or to meditateMeditation The term Meditation describes a variety of practices with a variety of goals.... on some topic. Similarly, ideas may be chewed on or digested. Chew the (one's) cud is to reflect or meditate. See also MonogastricMonogastric A monogastric organism has only one stomach, and is the alternate gastric complex to a four-chambered stomach known as a rum... - Colorado State University