Anatomy and Physiology of Ruminants in Relation to Emission of Greenhouse Gas

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF RUMINANTS AND EMISSION OF
GREENHOUSE GAS
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ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF RUMINANTS IN RELATION TO EMISSION OF
GREEMHOUSE GASES
INTRODUCTION
The ruminants have four stomachs. They include the rumen, the reticulum, omasum and finally
the abomasum. The rumen is the largest with a capacity of 150-200 liters which is also
equivalent to 40-50 gallons (Hill, McSweeney, Wright, Bishop-Hurley, & Kalantar-zadeh, 2016,
p. 27). In the rumen, there are millions of different microorganisms that assist the ruminants to
digest and utilize the different nutrients. To be able to have efficient feed utilization and high
milk and meat yield, the microorganisms should have an optimal environment.
In the rumen, there is fermentation. Fermentation is the process in which different
microorganisms convert carbohydrates into volatile fatty acids and gases. This process usually
allow the ruminants convert cellulose into energy (Duin et al., 2016, p. 6173). Different gases are
also produced in the rumen and they include methane and carbon dioxide. Production of this
gases leads to energy loss by the ruminants .There are however other fermentation modifiers like
the ionophores which improves on energy efficiency of the ruminants through reducing gas
energy losses. The gases produced during fermentation are then expelled from their bodies
through belching. In the event that the ruminant does not belch effectively, it can die as a result
of bloat which is the accumulation of excess methane and carbon dioxide in the rumen.
Passage of food through the digestive system
Ruminants usually chew their food even without sorting. There is a short period of mastication
and addition of saliva as well (Murray, Chadwick, Newbold, & Lockyer, n.d., p. 108). The feed

is then swallowed in a bolus. During rumination, the food is returned to the mouth and chewed
again. The second part of mastication is just to reduce the food into smaller particles.
Rumination has several functions. Initially, the mastication increases the surface area of food and
this facilitates the breakdown of food by different microorganisms and the digestive juices.
Addition of saliva is another importance. Ruminants produce a lot of saliva(Yáñez-Ruiz et al.,
2016, p. 17) .A cow for example produce 40-150 liters of saliva in a single day .The saliva is
used for buffering food as well as suppressing foam. Since saliva has a PH of 8.2, it assists to
counter acid producing food in the rumen like cereals and molasses. Saliva also reduce the
likelihood of bloat due to its suppressing effect.
Rumen and Reticulum
Ruminants have large rumen which act as fermentation vat. There are more than 200 types of
bacteria and more than 20 types of protozoans that assists the ruminants in utilization of both the
fibrous and protein nitrogen foods (Tapio, Snelling, Strozzi, & Wallace, 2017, p. 12). As food
enters the lumen, it is laid upon the mat in the rumen. This mat usually floats on top of the
contents of the rumen. The freshly ingested food materials usually accumulate at the rear end of
the mat by rhythmic contractions of the ruminal walls. Bacteria then start acting on the
fermentable food. The cuds that are from the front layer are eructed as the ruminants ruminates
and saliva is then added in the mouth by the grinding actions of the teeth. This increases the
surface area of the food that is exposed to the bacteria.
The food particles gradually becomes smaller in size as the bacteria continue working on them.
The bacteria also absorb fluids and move to the bottom of the rumen. The rumen usually contract
several times a minute so as to effectively mix the fluid and liquid content that are found in the