Physiologically, a ruminant is a mammal Mammals are a class of vertebrate, air-breathing animals whose females are characterized by the possession of mammary glands while both males and females are characterized by hair and/or fur, three middle ear bones used in hearing, and a neocortex region in the brain. Some mammals have sweat glands, but most do not of the order Artiodactyla The even-toed ungulates is a paraphyletic taxonomic group that contains many hoofed animals such as pigs, peccaries, hippopotamuses, camels, chevrotains , deer, giraffes, pronghorn, antelopes, sheep, goats, and cattle, but excludes whales even though they share a common ancestor. They are ungulates whose weight is borne about equally by the third that digests plant-based food by initially softening it within the animal's first stomach In some animals, including vertebrates, echinoderms, insects and molluscs, the stomach is a muscular, hollow, dilated part of the alimentary canal which functions as the primary organ of the digestive tract. It is involved in the second phase of digestion, following mastication (chewing). The stomach is located between the esophagus and the small, then regurgitating the semi-digested mass, now known as cud Cud is a portion of food that returns from a ruminant's stomach in the mouth to be chewed for the second time. More accurately, it is a bolus of semi-degraded food regurgitated from the reticulorumen of a ruminant. Cud is produced during the physical digestive process of rumination, or "chewing the cud". The idiomatic expression chewing, and chewing it again. The process of rechewing the cud to further break down plant matter and stimulate digestion is called "ruminating". Ruminating mammals include cattle Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius. Cattle are raised as livestock for meat (beef and veal), as dairy animals for milk and other dairy products,, goats The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of goat, sheep Domestic sheep are quadrupedal, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Like all ruminants, sheep are members of the order Artiodactyla, the even-toed ungulates. Although the name "sheep" applies to many species, in everyday usage it almost always refers to Ovis aries. Numbering a little over 1 billion, domestic sheep are the most, giraffes The giraffe is an African even-toed ungulate mammal, the tallest of all land-living animal species, and the largest ruminant. The giraffe's scientific name, which is similar to its antiquated English name of camelopard, refers to its irregular patches of color on a light background, which bear a token resemblance to a leopard's spots. The average, bison Members of the genus Bison are large even-toed ungulates within the subfamily Bovinae. Two extant species and four extinct species are recognized. The surviving species are the American bison, Bison bison , found in North America, and the European bison, or wisent (Bison bonasus), found in Europe and the Caucasus. While these species are usually, yaks The yak, Bos grunniens, is a long-haired bovine found throughout the Himalayan region of south Central Asia, the Tibetan Plateau and as far north as Mongolia and Russia. In addition to a large domestic population, there is a small, vulnerable wild yak population, water buffalo Some zoologists split the Water Buffalo into two or three species, the Domestic Asian Water Buffalo, the Philippines Carabao and the Wild Asian Water Buffalo, a rare endangered species which is the domestic buffalo's ancestor, deer Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. They include for example Moose, Red Deer, Reindeer, Roe and Chital. Male deer of all species but the Chinese Water deer and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year. In this they differ from permanently horned animals such as antelope; these are in the same order as deer and may, camels A camel is an even-toed ungulate within the genus Camelus, bearing distinctive fatty deposits known as humps on its back. There are two species of camels: the dromedary or Arabian camel has a single hump, and the Bactrian camel has two humps. They are native to the dry desert areas of West Asia, and Central and East Asia, respectively. Both, alpacas Alpaca is a domesticated species of South American camelid. It resembles a small llama in appearance, llamas The llama is a South American camelid, widely used as a pack and meat animal by Andean cultures since pre-hispanic times, wildebeest The wildebeest , also called the gnu (pronounced /ˈnuː/ noo or /ˈnjuː/ nyoo), is an antelope of the genus Connochaetes. It is a hooved (ungulate) mammal. Wildebeest is Dutch for "wild beast" or "wild cow" in Afrikaans (bees = cow), while Connochaetes derives from the Greek words konnos ("beard") and khaite (", antelope Antelope is a term referring to many even-toed ungulate species found all over the world in places such as Africa, Asia and North America. The term refers to a ‘miscellaneous’ group within the family encompassing the old-world species which are not cattle, sheep, buffalo, bison,or goats. A group of antelope is called a herd, pronghorn The Pronghorn , is a species of artiodactyl mammal native to interior western and central North America. Though not an antelope, it is often known colloquially in North America as the Prong Buck, Pronghorn Antelope, Speedgoat, or simply Antelope, as it closely resembles the true antelopes of the Old World and fills a similar ecological niche due, and nilgai Nilgai have thin legs and a robust body that slopes down from the shoulder. Their long, narrow heads are topped by two small conical horns which are straight and tilted slightly forward. Horns on trophy males are normally 21.6-25.4 centimeters . They have an erectile mane on the back of the neck and a tubular shaped "hair pennant" on the. Taxonomically, the suborder Ruminantia Ruminantia includes many of the well-known large grazing or browsing mammals: among them cattle, goats, sheep, deer, and antelope. All members of the Ruminantia are ruminants: they digest food in two steps, chewing and swallowing in the normal way to begin with, and then regurgitating the semi-digested cud to re-chew it and thus extract the includes all those species except the camels, llamas, and alpacas, which are Tylopoda Tylopoda is a suborder of terrestrial herbivorous even-toed ungulates belonging to Artiodactyla. They are extant in the wild in their native ranges of South America and Asia, while Australian feral camels are an introduced species. The group has a long fossil history in North America and Europe. Tylopoda appeared during the Eocene around 46.2. Therefore, the term 'ruminant' is not synonymous with Ruminantia Ruminantia includes many of the well-known large grazing or browsing mammals: among them cattle, goats, sheep, deer, and antelope. All members of the Ruminantia are ruminants: they digest food in two steps, chewing and swallowing in the normal way to begin with, and then regurgitating the semi-digested cud to re-chew it and thus extract the. The word "ruminant" comes from the Latin ruminare, which means "to chew over again".

Explanation

In the first two chambers, the rumen and the reticulum, the food is mixed with saliva and separates into layers of solid and liquid material. Solids clump together to form the cud or bolus). The cud is then regurgitated, chewed slowly to completely mix it with saliva and to break down the particle size. Fiber, especially cellulose Cellulose is an organic compound with the formula n, a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to over ten thousand β(1→4) linked D-glucose units and hemi-cellulose Hemicellulose contains many different sugar monomers. In contrast, cellulose contains only anhydrous glucose. For instance, besides glucose, sugar monomers in hemicellulose can include xylose, mannose, galactose, rhamnose, and arabinose. Hemicelluloses contain most of the D-pentose sugars, and occasionally small amounts of L-sugars as well. Xylose, is primarily broken down into the three volatile fatty acids, ethanoic acid Acetic acid, CH3COOH, also known as ethanoic acid, is an organic acid which gives vinegar its sour taste and pungent smell. It is a weak acid, in that it is only partially dissociated acid in aqueous solution. Pure, water-free acetic acid is a colourless liquid that absorbs water from the environment (hygroscopy), and freezes at 16.5 °C (62 °F), propanoic acid and 3-hydroxy butanoic acid, in these chambers by microbes (bacteria The bacteria ( [bækˈtɪəriə] ; singular: bacterium)[α] are a large group of single-celled, prokaryote microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria have a wide range of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals. Bacteria are ubiquitous in every habitat on Earth, growing in soil, acidic hot springs, radioactive waste,, protozoa Protozoa is a subkingdom of microorganisms that are classified generally as unicellular non-fungal eukaryotes. Protozoans are a major component of the ecosystem.[clarification needed], and fungi A fungus ) is a member of a large group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, Fungi (pronounced /ˈfʌndʒaɪ/ or /ˈfʌŋɡaɪ/), that is separate from plants, animals and bacteria. One major difference is that fungal). Protein and non-structural carbohydrate (pectin Pectin is a structural heteropolysaccharide contained in the primary cell walls of terrestrial plants. It was first isolated and described in 1825 by Henri Braconnot. It is produced commercially as a white to light brown powder, mainly extracted from citrus fruits, and is used in food as a gelling agent particularly in jams and jellies. It is also, sugars Sugar is an informal term for a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose characterized by a sweet flavor. In food, sugar almost exclusively refers to sucrose, which primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet. Other sugars are used in industrial food preparation, but are usually known by more specific, starches Starch or amylum is a carbohydrate consisting of a large number of glucose units joined together by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by all green plants as an energy store. It is the most important carbohydrate in the human diet and is contained in such staple foods as potatoes, wheat, maize , rice, and cassava) are also fermented.

Even though the rumen and reticulum have different names they represent the same functional space as digesta can move back and forth between them. Together these chambers are called the reticulorumen. The degraded digesta, which is now in the lower liquid part of the reticulorumen, then passes into the next chamber, the omasum, where water and many of the inorganic mineral elements are absorbed into the blood stream. After this the digesta is moved to the true stomach, the abomasum. The abomasum is the direct equivalent of the monogastric stomach (for example that of the human or pig), and digesta is digested here in much the same way. Digesta is finally moved into the small intestine, where the digestion and absorption of nutrients occurs. Microbes produced in the reticulorumen are also digested in the small intestine. Fermentation continues in the large intestine The large intestine is the second to last part of the digestive system—the final stage of the alimentary canal is the anus —in vertebrate animals. Its function is to absorb water from the remaining indigestible food matter, and then to pass useless waste material from the body. This article is primarily about the human gut, though the in the same way as in the reticulorumen.

Almost all the glucose produced by the breaking down of cellulose and hemi-cellulose is used by microbes in the rumen, and as such ruminants usually absorb little glucose Glucose , a simple sugar (monosaccharide), is an important carbohydrate in biology. Cells use it as a source of energy and a metabolic intermediate. Glucose is one of the main products of photosynthesis and starts cellular respiration. Starch and cellulose are polymers derived from the dehydration of glucose. The name "glucose" comes from the small intestine In vertebrates, the small intestine is the part of the gastrointestinal tract following the stomach and followed by the large intestine, and is where the vast majority of digestion and absorption of food takes place. In invertebrates such as worms, the terms "gastrointestinal tract" and "large intestine" are often used to. Rather, ruminants' requirement for glucose (for brain function and lactation if appropriate) is made by the liver from propionate, one of the volatile fatty acids made in the rumen.^{[citation needed]}

Classification

Hofmann and Stewart divided ruminants into three major categories based on their feed type and feeding habits: concentrate selectors; intermediate types; and grass/roughage eaters, with the assumption that feeding habits in ruminants cause morphological differences in their digestive systems, including salivary glands, rumen size, and rumen papillae.^[5][6]

Abundance and distribution

Wild ruminants number at least 75 million and are native to all continents except Australia and Antarctica. Nearly 90% of all species are found in Eurasia and Africa alone. Species inhabit a wide range of climates (from tropic to arctic) and habitats (from open plains to forests). The population of domestic ruminants is greater than 3.5 billion, with cattle, sheep, and goats accounting for about 95% of the total population. ^[7]

Religious importance

In Abrahamic In religion, Abrahamic religion is the designation used for monotheistic faiths emphasizing and tracing their common origin to Abraham. Judaism regards itself as the religion of the descendants of Jacob, grandson of Abraham, the direct descendant of Shem, the favoured son of Noah, who founded the human race following the Flood. Christianity began religions, a distinction between clean and unclean animals approximately falls according to whether the animal ruminates. The Law of Moses The 613 Mitzvot are statements and principles of law and ethics contained in the Torah or Five Books of Moses. These principles of Biblical law are sometimes called commandments (mitzvot) or collectively as the "Law of Moses" (Torat Moshe, תורת משה), "Mosaic Law", or simply "the Law" (though these terms are in the Bible The Bible refers to collections of sacred scripture of Judaism and Christianity. There is no single version: both the individual books and their order vary. The Hebrew Bible contains 24 books that were rearranged into 39 by Christian denominations, while complete Christian Bibles range from the 66 books of the Protestant canon to 81 books in the allowed only the eating of animals that had cloven hooves The even-toed ungulates is a paraphyletic taxonomic group that contains many hoofed animals such as pigs, peccaries, hippopotamuses, camels, chevrotains , deer, giraffes, pronghorn, antelopes, sheep, goats, and cattle, but excludes whales even though they share a common ancestor. They are ungulates whose weight is borne about equally by the third and "that chew the cud",^[8] a stipulation preserved to this day in the Jewish laws of Kashrut Kashrut is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha (Jewish law) is termed kosher in English, from the Ashkenazi pronunciation of the Hebrew term kashér (כָּשֵׁר), meaning "fit" (in this context, fit for consumption by Jews according to traditional Jewish law). Food that is not in accordance with Jewish law is.

In humans

Rumination in humans is not considered ordinary behavior. It can be the result of physical or mental trauma, and can become a chronic disorder known as rumination syndrome Rumination syndrome, or Merycism is an under-diagnosed chronic eating disorder, characterized by effortless regurgitation of most meals following consumption. There is no retching, nausea, heartburn, odours, or abdominal pains associated with the regurgitation, as there is with typical vomiting. The disorder has been historically documented as.

Other uses

The verb to ruminate has been extended metaphorically A metaphor is an analogy between two objects or ideas; the analogy is conveyed by the use of a metaphorical word in place of some other word. For example: "Her eyes were glistening jewels" to mean to ponder thoughtfully or to meditate Meditation is a holistic discipline during which time the practitioner trains his or her mind in order to realize some benefit on some topic. Similarly, ideas may be chewed on or digested. Chew the (one's) cud is to reflect or meditate.

Ruminants and climate change

Methane production by animals may contribute to a greenhouse effect or climate change. Methane production by animals, principally ruminants, is estimated 15-20% global production of methane.^{[9] [10]} The rumen is the major site of methane production in ruminants.^[11] In Australia, methane production from ruminants some have estimated 99.8% of total methane production results from livestock.^[12]

See also

• Monogastric

References

1. ^ Russell,J. B. 2002. Rumen Microbiology and its role In Ruminant Nutrition.
2. ^ William O. Reece. "Functional Anatomy and Physiology of Domestic Animals". http://books.google.com/books?id=gvt_qSsLobUC&pg=PA350&lpg=PA350&dq=tylopoda+omasum&source=bl.
3. ^ Esther J. Finegan and C. Edward Stevens. "Digestive System of Vertebrates". http://www.cnsweb.org/digestvertebrates/WWWEdStevensCDAnatomy.html.
4. ^ Muhammad Khalil. "The anatomy of the digestive system". http://www.onemedicine.tuskegee.edu/DigestiveSystem/Stomach/Stomach_Ruminants.html.
5. ^ Ditchkoff, S. S. 2000. "A decade since “diversification of ruminants”: has our knowledge improved?". Oecologia, 125:82-84
6. ^ Hofmann. R. R. 1989."Evolutionary steps of ecophysiological and diversification of ruminants :a comparative view of their digestive system". Oecologia, 78:443-457
7. ^ Hackmann. T. J., and Spain, J. N. 2010."Ruminant ecology and evolution: Perspectives useful to livestock research and production". Journal of Dairy Science, 93:1320-1334
8. ^ Leviticus 11:6
9. ^ Cicerone, R. J., and R. S. Oremland. 1988 "Biogeochemical Aspects of Atmospheric Methane"
10. ^ Yavitt, J. B. 1992. Methane, biogeochemical cycle. Pages 197–207 in Encyclopedia of Earth System Science, Vol. 3. Acad.Press, London, England.
11. ^ Asanuma. N., M. Iwamoto, T. Hino. 1999."Effect of the addition of fumarate on methane production by ruminal microorganisms in vitro." J. Dairy Sci.82:780–787
12. ^ Hegarty, R. "Greenhouse gas emissions from the Australian Livestock sector"

External links

• Digestive Physiology of Herbivores - Colorado State University

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