AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -An interesting feature of the ruminants’ mouth is that they do not have upper incisor teeth. They use their lower teeth, tongue and lips to tear and chew their food. From the mouth, the food travels to the esophagus and on to the stomach.

Detailed explanation-2: -Ruminants such as cattle, sheep and goats are herbivores with a unique digestive anatomy. A prominent feature of ruminant dental anatomy is that they lack upper incisors, having instead a “dental pad", as shown in the image to the right of a goat.

Detailed explanation-3: -A ruminant uses its mouth (oral cavity) and tongue to harvest forages during grazing or to consume harvested feedstuffs. Cattle harvest forages during grazing by wrapping their tongues around the plants and then pulling to tear the forage for consumption.

Detailed explanation-4: -Ruminants quickly swallow the food and store it in the rumen. Once the rumen is filled, food is passed into the second chamber (reticulum). In the reticulum, digestive juices partially digest the food. Partially digested food is called cud.

Detailed explanation-5: -Teeth in the back of the mouth (known as molars) are located on the top and bottom jaws. Plant materials sometimes contain tough stems, but because a cow chews food in a side-to-side motion, the molars shred the grass into small pieces that are more easily digested.