ZOOLOGICAL POSITION AND STRUCTURE 1 7 
time as the animals have completed their feeding, 
and retired to repose and digest their meal. Before 
the digestive process can take place, the food has, 
however, to be regurgitated from the paunch to the 
mouth, where it is subjected to complete mastication 
by means of the powerful series of mill-like cheek- 
teeth characteristic of all ruminating artiodactyles. 
After this process has been accomplished, the 
thoroughly chewed food is once more swallowed. 
Stomach of a Sheep, partially cut open to show the 
Internal Structure 
ft', resophagus, or gullet ; rti, rumen, or paunch ; ret, reticulum, or 
honeycomb ; ps, psalterium, or many plies ; ah, abomasum ; py, 
pylorus ; dii, duodenum, or commencement of the small intestine. 
(From British Museum Guide to Great Game Animals.") 
and passed, not into the paunch, but into the true 
stomach, or reticulum, where it undergoes the greater 
part of its digestion, subsequently passing in turn 
into the other two chambers, where the process is 
completed, and finally into the small intestine or 
bowel. When a ruminant is engaged in chewing 
the cud, after a mouthful of food has been masticated 
and swallowed, the animal, as may be noticed by 
watching a herd of recumbent cows shortly after 
their meal, will remain perfectly still for a few 
2 
