DIGESTION 301 



of the stomach and intestine these nerves end in an interlacing 

 set of fibres with nerve cells upon them, from which fibres 

 pass to the muscles and glands. One of these plexuses 

 (Auerbach's, or the myenteric plexus) is placed between the 

 muscular coats — the other (Meissner's) is placed in the 

 submucosa. 



Size and Capacity of Organs. 

 The following tables give some idea of the size and 

 capacity of the parts of the alimentary canal in full-grown 

 animals : — 



Average Length in Feet of Intestines. 



In the ox and sheep the figures given as capacity of 

 stomach include the rumen, the reticulum, and the omasum. 

 The relative capacity of these for the ox are: — rumen, 80 

 per cent. ; reticulum, 5 per cent. ; omasum, 7 per cent. ; and 

 abomasum, 8 per cent. The great capacity of the large 

 intestine of the horse should be noted. In this animal the 

 caecum is also large. Its capacity is 25 to 30 litres ; that 

 of the ox is 8 to 10. 



II. PHYSIOLOGY. 



Although the nature of the food is very different in 

 different species of animals, the essential features of the 

 digestive processes are common to all. In herbivora there 

 are adaptations for dealing with bulky food. For the most 

 part, however, these are developed after birth as the animal 

 begins to change its diet from milk — an animal product — , 

 to the bulky vegetable food. They are merely modifications 

 of the simpler system of carnivora, which may be regarded 



