AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -YES AND NO. Cows technically only have one stomach, but it has four distinct compartments made up of Rumen, Reticulum, Omasum and Abomasum. It is very different than a human stomach. That’s why people often say that cows have four stomachs.

Detailed explanation-2: -Quick facts. Ruminant stomachs have four compartments: the rumen, the reticulum, the omasum and the abomasum. Rumen microbes ferment feed and produce volatile fatty acids, which is the cow’s main energy source.

Detailed explanation-3: -The four compartments allow ruminant animals to digest grass or vegetation without completely chewing it first. Instead, they only partially chew the vegetation, then microorganisms in the rumen section of the stomach break down the rest.

Detailed explanation-4: -The true stomach in the cow is abomasum and is the fourth chamber. It has glands, secreting acids and enzymes for digestion. It functions similarly to the carnivore stomach as it is glandular and digests food chemically, rather than fermentation like the other 3 chambers of the ruminant stomach.

Detailed explanation-5: -ruminant, (suborder Ruminantia), any mammal of the suborder Ruminantia (order Artiodactyla), which includes the pronghorns, giraffes, okapis, deer, chevrotains, cattle, antelopes, sheep, and goats. Most ruminants have a four-chambered stomach and two-toed feet. The upper incisors are reduced or sometimes absent.