AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Animals like horses, rabbit, etc., have a large sac-like structure called Caecum between the oesophagus and the small intestine (Fig. 2.9). The cellulose of the food is digested here by the action of certain bacteria which are not present in humans.

Detailed explanation-2: -Horse Science. Horses and rabbits are modified monogastric herbivores. Horses are able to utilize large amounts of roughage due to their relatively large cecum. The cecum is a section of the colon where digestive bacteria break down roughage.

Detailed explanation-3: -The rabbit digestive tract greatly resembles that of a horse. Both are “hind-gut fermenters, ” meaning that they have an organ called the “cecum” that functions much like the rumen of a cow, but instead of being at the beginning of the digestive tract it is at the end.

Detailed explanation-4: -The equine cecum serves as a storage site for water and electrolytes. Fiber consumption can increase water consumption, and the extra water is held in the cecum until absorption. The additional water adds some weight to your horse, but it helps replace crucial electrolytes lost from heavy sweating.

Detailed explanation-5: -Rabbits are hind-gut fermenters, which means that they have a huge organ called the caecum that contains lots of microbes to break down the tough fibre in their diet. The caecum is a blind-ending sac at the start of the large intestine – we actually have one too, though ours is tiny and doesn’t do very much!