Rural School Leaflet 



1207 



Mucous lining of the reticulum, or second compart 

 went. Arrow in the esophageal groove 



rapidly, chew, or masticate, it V)ut little, and swallow it. Later the food 

 is returned to the mouth for a more complete mastication. 



The stomach of a rumi- 

 nant is larger in proportion 

 to the size of the animal 

 than that of other animals. 

 In the average-sized cow, it 

 will hold from thirty to forty 

 gallons. It is di\'ided into 

 four parts, or cavities, called: 

 rumen, paunch, or first com- 

 partment; reticulmn, honey- 

 comb, or second compart- 

 ment; omasum, psalterium, 

 manyplies, or third compart- 

 ment; and abomasimi, reed, 

 rennet, or fourth compart- 

 ment. 



All food taken into the 

 mouth is passed through the esophagus, or food pipe, to the stomach. 

 This tube, with walls of muscle, reaches from the mouth to the stomach 

 and is about one inch in diameter when normal, but it is capable of 

 being enlarged to accommodate masses of food. The outer walls of the 

 esophagus are made up of two sets of circular muscle fibers. One set 

 forces the food toward the stomach, 

 and the other forces it from the 

 stomach to the mouth. The esopha- 

 gus enters the rumen, or the first 

 compartment of the stomach, and 

 is continued to the abomasiun by a 

 muscular canal called the esophageal 

 groove. This groove is so arranged 

 that it enters the second and the 

 third compartments of the stomach. 

 All soHd food, when first swal- 

 lowed, passes down the esophagus 

 and enters the rumen, which is the 

 largest of the four parts of the 

 stomach and acts as a storehouse for 

 all the solid food. The inside of the 

 rumen is incompletely di\aded into four parts b\' four muscular pillars. 

 The inner lining, or mucous membrane, is covered with little pointed 



Mucous memhraiic and leaves of the 

 omasum, or third compartment 



