120 THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. 



luembrane termed tlie peritoneum, which covers all organs in 

 and virtually suspends all intestinal organs fi'om the roof of the 

 abdominal cavity. The internal surface of the rumen is cov- 

 ered by a multitude of papillary prolongations, vs^hich are de- 

 pendencies from the mucous membrane. These papillae are 

 very large (foliated or leaf like in shape), and numerous on the 

 right side of the stomach, being more rare on the left and absent- 

 on the muscular bands or columns running on the inside and, as 

 before stated, partially dividing the organ. "While we have said 

 that the stomach is partially divided into two compartments, it 

 will be more correct to say that there are four or five of these 

 divisions, the utility of which is to prevent any one portion of 

 the stomach being compelled to bear all the weight of the food 

 at any one time. By their arrangement they afford depositories 

 for food which has partially undergone maceration, the upper 

 compartment being the one into which the food is raised previous 

 to the process of rmnination. "While the rumen is partially at- 

 tached to the second stomach, it only communicates with it 

 through the common opening of the two stomachs with the 

 oesophageal canal. The second stomach is called the reticulum. 

 The reticulum or honeycomb is the smallest of the four. It is 

 elongated from side to side, slightly curved on itself, placed be- 

 tween the midriff and the forward extremity of the left sac of 

 the rumen. 



It is globular in shape and is the part of the animal which 

 is eaten as tripe. The internal structure consists of a vast num- 

 ber of shallow cells, resembling honeycomb; the cells near the 

 entrance to the stomach are small, increasing in size as they leave 

 this point. The sides of the cells are formed by ridges from the 

 mucous and cuticular coats, raid across within these cells smaller 

 ridges will be observed. They are in shape five or six sided, and on 

 their surfaces are an immense number of papillae, more pointed 

 but much smaller in size than the corresponding papillae in the 



