Download Guided Tour through the Ruminant Gastrointestinal Tract

Guided Tour through the Ruminant Gastrointestinal Tract
Once food enters the mouth, it moves through the following process:
1. Mouth - Salivary glands secrete saliva, which contains an enzyme
that breaks down starch. Food is moistened to aid in chewing. bites
and teeth chews food.
2. Esophagus – long tube that serves as the food delivery mechanism
to the stomach. It allows us to breathe while chewing by spacing
out the food matter.
3. Four Stomach sections
 Rumen – large part of ruminant’s stomach where bacteria
change large amounts of
roughages into amino acids
 Reticulum – the forward most portion of the ruminant
stomach, liquids go to reticulum
where its honeycomb-like shape soak food for microbial
digestion rumen and reticulum make up about 85% of
the capacity.
 Omasum – Round, muscular part with many plies that
squeezes feed and removes some
liquid. The omasum contains papillae responsible for grinding
roughage.
 Abomasum – true stomach where enzymes act on feed.
contains strong acids, enzymes and fluids that mix, toss and grind
foods. The pepsin enzyme breaks down bonds found in proteins.
4. Small Intestine – The site where actual digestion takes place.
Partially digested feed is mixed with bile, pancreatic juice and
intestinal juice. Most food nutrients are absorbed from the villi in the
small intestine. This organ is approximately 20 feet in length.
Specifically, carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins are broken into smaller
units here and absorbed into the blood stream.
-Pancreas – secretes pancreatic juice and a bicarbonate
that neutralizes stomach acid that makes its way into the
small intestine..
-Gallbladder – stores bile.
-Liver - makes bile and digests lipids.
5. Large intestine – reabsorbs water and some minerals into the blood
and to add mucus to the undigested feed, which is feces.
6. Rectum or Anus – undigested waste is passed here for excretion.
Note: The brain is the control center for this whole process.
Specifically, the hypothalamus regulates appetite and hunger.
Terms & Definitions
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Ingestion – eating and swallowing food and liquids.
Digestion – the breakdown of food into its individual nutrients.
Absorption – nutrients in contact with the cell wall of the GI
tract for an extended period of time are passed into the cells.
Transportation – nutrients are transported in the blood to the
liver where they are processed and sent to parts of the body to use.
Peristalsis – layers of muscles squeeze and push food along the
GI tract.
Mastication (chewing) – increases the surface area of the food
and mixes saliva enzymes and water with the food
Fun Facts about Digestion
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When food goes through the process from ingestion to
excretion about 24-72 hours have lapsed. If a person’s diet is high in
fiber, that time is reduced.
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Why doesn’t the stomach digest itself? A substance called
gastric mucus is made inside the body. This substance lines the
stomach wall so that acids can’t eat away at the stomach lining.
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The liver is an important organ in the body. Not only does it
“process” nutrients to send to other parts of the body, but it also
detoxifies harmful substances that are ingested into the body.
Putting too many harmful substances into the body can cause
cirrhosis, or hardening of the liver.
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The process of peristalsis slows down as humans age, thus
increasing the risk for constipation.
Your assignment:
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Create a brochure or small booklet that will serve as a “travel
guide” of the gastrointestinal tract.
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Your guide should include the following components:
o o A hand-drawn or computer generated picture of all
seven “locations” in the digestive tract & the stomach with
the 4 “sites” or sections.
o o A physical description of each location.
o o A creative explanation of interesting features, tour
options, etc., that can be visited at each stop.
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The emphasis on this assignment will be placed on creativity.
The goal is that you understand each part of the digestive tract well
enough to create analogies between it and a real-life location that
is known for tourism.