HOW FOOD IS DIGESTED 



omasum, and the abomasum. The last is the true 

 digestive stomach, the others are largely storage 

 places for the saliva-mixed food. The first of these 

 compartments is very decidedly a storing place 

 where the food is placed until it is thrown back to 



STOMACH OF RUMINANT 



The four main divisions of the ruminant's stomach are pictured here. The 

 first three divisions are the storehouses for food until it is prepared for the 

 fourth or true stomach. 



the mouth for further mastication. This act, or 

 cud chewing, refers to rechewing the food so as 

 to get it finer and better ground for digestion. The 

 food, on leaving the mouth the second time, is 

 passed through the rumen into the reticulum, then 

 to the omasum and finally into the abomasum, or 

 true stomach, where digestion is continued. 



In the first compartment, or rumen, a churning 

 process is carried on continually. Some think this 

 division of the stomach is never wholly empty. An 

 alkaline fluid is furnished here, as is the case also 



