Chewing the Cud -

Chewing the Cud:

A Cow's Digestive System

Digestive Disease

Sub-Acute Ruminal Acidosis (SARA)

If the pH inside the rumen falls below 5.5, proper digestion and fermentation of the food is not possible. This causes erratic feeding in cows and feces with acidic bubbles.

Impact on

Other Systems

Muscular System

Excretory System

The reticulum is a muscle that allows the cow to "spit up" the food so it can be chewed again

Nutrients that are not used by the cow's body are passed through the excretory system. Methane gas is a major waste product of the cow's digestive system.

Rumen

Circulatory System

The nutrients that are digested from the food are passed into the circulatory system for distribution throughout the body

The rumen has a capacity of up to 95 liters, like a giant trash bag attached to the esophagus of the cow. It also has little nipple- like structures in the lining called papillae

Function and

Major Organs

The digestive system provides nutrients to the cow extracted from plant byproducts and grass

Bibliography

Reticulum has about 50% of microbes necessary to digest the food

Rumen has enzymes that break down plant cellulose and hemicellulose

Abomasum secretes digestive enzymes which prepares food for absorption in the intestines

Omasum is responsible for the reabsorption of water and reducing particle size

1. "Adaptationsto High Fibre Diets." Animal Structure & Function. University of Waikato. Web. 03 Mar. 2014. <http://sci.waikato.ac.nz/farm/content/animalstructure.html>.

2. "Agripedia | Digestive Tract of Cow." Agripedia | Digestive Tract of Cow. University of Kentucky. Web. 03 Mar. 2014. <http://www2.ca.uky.edu/Agripedia/glossary/digecow.htm>.

3. Bowen, R. "Rumen Physiology and Rumination." Rumen Physiology and Rumination. Colorado State University, Nov. 2009. Web. 03 Mar. 2014. <http://www.vivo.colostate.edu/hbooks/pathphys/digestion/herbivores/rumination.html>.

4. Manci, Saed. "A Cow's Digestive System - YouTube." YouTube. YouTube, 13 Mar. 2013. Web. 03 Mar. 2014. <

5. Mutsvangwa, T., and T. Wright. "Sub-Acute Ruminal Acidosis (SARA) in Dairy Cows." Sub-Acute Ruminal Acidosis (SARA) in Dairy Cows. Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Apr. 2003. Web. 03 Mar. 2014. <http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/livestock/dairy/facts/03-031.htm>.

6. United States. Texas Agricultural Extension Service. The Texas A&M University System. Animal Nutrition. By Whitney Rounds and Dennis B. Herd. College Station: Texas A&M, 2012. The Cow's Digestive System. Texas A&M. Web. 3 Mar. 2014. <http://animalscience.tamu.edu/files/2012/04/nutrition-cows-digestive-system.pdf>.

7. "U.S. Food and Drug Administration." How Cows Eat Grass. Web. 03 Mar. 2014. <http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/ResourcesforYou/AnimalHealthLiteracy/ucm255500.htm>.

Images

(in order of appearance)

1. Doffing, Alexandra. Cow Digestive System. 3 July 2012. http://doffingdesign.wordpress.com/2012/07/03/cow-digestive-system-instructional-diagram/.

2. Dr. Karen Peterson. Rumen Papillae. http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/ResourcesforYou/AnimalHealthLiteracy/ucm255500.htm.

3. Cow Rumen. http://matronofhusbandry.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/100_7013.jpg

4. Dr. Karen Peterson. The Reticulum. http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/ResourcesforYou/AnimalHealthLiteracy/ucm255500.htm.

5. Cow Excretory System. http://www.fao.org/docrep/t0690e/t0690e04.htm

6. Hui, Poh Yu. Cow Circulatory System. http://moomoodiaries-moomoo.blogspot.com/p/circulatory-system.html

7. Sub-Acute Ruminal Acidosis (SARA). http://nutribio.ie/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/SARA.jpg