The Cattle Digestive System and Its Functions

The Cattle Digestive System and Its Functions –   The Cattle Digestive System is a metabolic process that processes substances, chemically or mechanically, to become nutrients. The digestive system of cows or ruminants (ruminants), such as goats, sheep, buffalo, etc.) is very different from other herbivores.

This is because, plants are more difficult to digest than animal meat. In addition, plant cells are also protected by high cell walls so that they require complex roots to absorb nutrients from plants. Here we see how the process of digestion of food in ruminants, such as cows.

Digestive System in Cows and their Functions

The digestive system of ruminants, such as cattle, consists of the mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, and large intestine. Here's the explanation

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1. Mouth

In the oral cavity consists of 2 organs that have important functions, namely the teeth and tongue. Teeth in cows are serrated, with the same arrangement as other mammals, such as incisors (incisors) have the function of clamping food, canines (canines ), molars (molars ) have a flat and wide shape. In the mouth there are also salivary glands that function to help the process of breaking down food, keeping the stomach from microbes and helping the process of food into the esophagus (esophagus). The main function of the mouth is to grind or crush food to make it easier to digest.

2. Esophagus (Esophagus)

The esophagus is the organ that connects the oral cavity to the stomach. This channel does not undergo a digestive process, only crosses or passes through it. The esophagus of ruminants, generally measuring 5-8 cm, wide depending on the size and texture of the feed consumed. The main function of the esophagus (esophagus) is to serve as a liaison or delivery of food from the oral cavity to the stomach.

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3. Stomach

The stomach of ruminant animals, such as cattle, consists of 4 parts, namely the rumen, reticulum, omasum and abomasum. The main function of the stomach is used as a temporary storage place for food to be re-chewed, while the following is an explanation and function of the 4 parts of the ruminant stomach in cattle.

• Rumen, the rumen is located in the left abdominal cavity, this rumen is often called a velvet belly because the surface has papillae. The function of the rumen is to store the plant matter it chews on temporarily, with quite a lot of bacteria, one-celled protozoa and other microbes that break down food.
• Reticulum, the reticulum is often called the stomach or hardware stomach. The reticulum lies close to the rumen and is bordered, but they do not have an insulating wall. The barrier between the rumen and reticum is only, in the form of a fold, so that the feed particles are mixed. The main function of the reticulum is to help the process of rumination, place of fermentation, absorption, gathering place for foreign bodies and regulate the flow of ingestion to the omasum.
• Omasum, omasum is often called the belly of the book, because the surface is covered with books. The omasum is located to the right of the reticulum and is next to ribs 7-11, with an elliptical shape. The main function of omasum is used as a grinder, filtering, fermentation and absorption of food.
• Abomasum, abomasum is often referred to as the true stomach. Abomasum is located at the bottom right, if acid conditions will move to the left. The surface of the abomasum is covered by a mucosa which is useful for protecting cells that are digested by enzymes. In addition, the abomasum consists of 3 parts, namely Cardia (mucus secretion), Fundica (pepsinogen, renin, HCL and mucus), and Pilocorika (mucus secretion). The main function of the abomasum is to serve as the starting site for enzymatic digestion.

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4. Small Intestine (Intestine Tenue)

The small intestine consists of 3 parts, namely, the duodenum, jejunum and ileum. The small intestine is also the longest organ of the digestive system compared to other organs, the length of the cow intestine is around 40 meters or more. The main function of the small intestine is to simplify substances from complexes to simpler forms. The explanation of the 3 parts of the small intestine is as follows:

• Duedenum (intestine of the twelve fingers), functions to digest food chemically with the help of digestive enzymes from the pancreas.
• Jejenum (empty intestine), functions to carry out digestion and distribution of various components, especially water, carbohydrates, protein and vitamins as well as lipophilic components.
• Ileum (gut absorption), serves to absorb food components that are not absorbed by the jejenum organ.

5. Large Intestine (Intestinum crassum)

The large intestine is approximately 1 meter long, consisting of the ascending colon, transverse colon and descending colon. Between the small intestine and the large intestine there is also the appendix (cecum). In the cecum there is a small lump called an appendix that contains white blood cells that play a role in immunity. The function of the large intestine is to absorb water, apply various types of vitamins, reduce acidity and prevent infection.

6. Rectum

The rectum is the last part of the large intestine, where feces are stored before being expelled through the anus. The rectum is lined by mucosa and blood vessels, here also controlling muscle contractions occurs so that feces are immediately expelled through the anus.

Thus information about  the Digestive System in Cows and their Functions.  Hopefully useful and useful, thank you.